The comedian will host the 2027 Academy Awards, even after he “died” in a comedic sketch at the end of this year’s ceremony.
WASHINGTON — Conan O’Brien will return as Oscars host in 2027, joining a rarefied group of those who have hosted the Academy Awards ceremony for at least three consecutive times.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor announced O’Brien as the host for the 99th Oscars on Tuesday. The ceremony will air live on ABC and Hulu from the Dolby Theater on Sunday, March 14, 2027.
Others in Oscars history to have hosted several times in a row were Billy Crystal, Johnny Carson and Bob Hope. Others have hosted three or more times — Jimmy Kimmel, Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Lewis, David Niven and Steve Martin, to name a few — but those were not in consecutive years.
O’Brien’s hat trick comes after he concluded the 2026 ceremony with a pre-taped segment spoofing Best Picture winner “One Battle After Another” in which he was given the title “Oscars host for life” and then led to a private office where a gas seeped in through the vents and “killed” him.
O’Brien’s producers, Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney, will also return for a third time, along with executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan for the fourth consecutive year.
“We are thrilled to be working again with Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff and Mike for the 99th Oscars,” Kramer and Howell Taylor said in a joint statement, according to Variety. “They are an incredible team and have produced such captivating, entertaining and heartfelt shows over the last two years. We are so grateful for their ongoing partnership as we honor our global film community — and we look forward to Conan superbly leading the celebration with his brilliance and humor.”
After several years of ratings increases, including a post-pandemic high of 19.7 million viewers who tuned in for O’Brien’s inaugural year as host, when “Anora” swept the awards, the show took a dip in viewership this year, when “One Battle After Another” was crowned best picture. Engagement for the Oscars rose by other metrics, though. Social media engagement during the broadcast went up by over 42% this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.