TV funnyman Conan O’Brien is tapped to host next Oscars

NEW YORK (AP) — A year after turning to comedian Jimmy Kimmel for the second time to host their big show, the Academy Awards will pivot to another familiar TV funnyman — Conan O’Brien.

“America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien said in a statement Friday.

It will be his first time as Oscar host, but he’s emceed other high-profile awards shows, like the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006 and the White House Correspondents’ dinner in 1995 and 2013.

The Oscars will air live on ABC on March 2.

O’Brien is best known for hosting the late-night talk shows “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan.” Before his TV hosting career, O’Brien was a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons.”

O’Brien joins the list of Oscar hosts that includes Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris.

“He joins an iconic roster of comedy greats who have served in this role, and we are so lucky to have him center stage for the Oscars,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group.

O’Brien left late-night television in 2021 and has since led the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” and a spinoff travel show for the Max streaming service called “Conan O’Brien Must Go.”