Who is Hosting the 2026 Oscars? Inside Conan O’Brien’s Highly Anticipated Return

The Emmy Award-winning comedian and former Late Night legend Conan O’Brien will officially host the 98th Oscars (per ABC News).

After hosting an unforgettable ceremony last year, O’Brien is setting his sights on taking the 2026 Oscars up a notch, promising that “there'll be some explosions” on Sunday night, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Hollywood is already gearing up for the high-stakes evening, and Oscar nominations are already out, betting on none other than O’Brien to lead the major event with his unique, self-deprecating, and high-energy style.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) moved past its Jimmy Kimmel era and tapped Conan O’Brien to host the annual Oscars for a second year (per The Guardian).

The Academy announced that they were “thrilled” that the 62-year-old comedian and longtime TV host will be hosting the 98th Academy Awards in 2026, along with TV show producers Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney and executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan.

Ampas’s decision to move towards a more versatile, globally recognized comedian is perfectly strategic. His ability to handle live broadcasting, improvise, and large-scale comedy is rare in the industry, and his contributions to Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons proved his aptitude for entertaining beyond doubt.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang previously stated that working closely with O’Brien in 2025 was “an honour” and that he “was the perfect host – skilfully guiding us through the evening with humour, warmth and reverence”.

O’Brien, on the other hand, has a less serious incentive for hosting the nearly century-old ceremony. “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” he joked, referring to Brody’s five-minute, forty-second acceptance speech on winning the Oscar for best actor.

Conan O’Brien has a decades-old Late Night legacy that qualifies him for hosting the most prestigious awards in Hollywood. The Harvard Lampoon alumnus hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2009, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien from 2009 to 2010, and Conan from 2010 to 2021.  

Moreover, the maverick TV personality previously hosted the Emmys in 2002 and did “a tremendous job,” according to Dick Askin, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (per Los Angeles Times).

He also returned for the Emmys in 2006 and later announced hosting the MTV Movie Awards in 2014, joking, “After eight years of intense negations, I am honoured to announce I am hosting MTV's second most prestigious awards show” (per BBC).

O’Brien’s experience with live television makes him a safe yet exciting pair of hands for the 98th Oscars. His portfolio is already solid for hosting the big night, but his quick-witted, sharp-tongued persona promises to keep everyone glued to their screen on March 15.

The Late Night alum is expected to take this year’s show to the next level with his signature style: awkwardly absurdist and surprisingly self-deprecating. Having worked with legendary writers like Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney for decades, O'Brien is likely to blend polished monologue jokes with the kind of unpredictable, "on-the-street" energy that made his travel shows global hits.

Audiences should also keep an eye out for potential cameos from his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast regulars or his longtime sidekick Andy Richter, which could bring a fresh, modern dynamic to the Dolby Theatre stage.

The seasoned TV host, comedian, and writer is expected to masterfully handle the momentous “Best Picture” announcement and other potential viral moments — just like he did last year.

“Conan delivered an unforgettable performance at ‘The Oscars,’ and we’re honored to have him and the producing team back next year,” stated Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group (per Academy Press Office). “Conan’s unique comedic style perfectly captured the moment, and I’m excited to have his talents back onstage next year to helm another indelible performance.”

By hosting the upcoming 98th Oscars, Conan O’Brien is joining a long roster of legends in the Academy Awards history who made the ceremony unforgettable, including Bob Hope, who hosted the Academy Awards a record 19 times (per The New York Historical), Billy Crystal, nine times (per PEOPLE), and Ellen DeGeneres, two times (per CNN).

Now that O’Brien has officially taken the reins for the second time, he joins an elite roster of legends, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Kimmel, who successfully helmed the show four times (2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024).

While the Kimmel era brought stability and classic late-night vibes, the Academy’s transition to O’Brien signals a move toward a more absurdist, high-energy comedic style that resonates across both traditional TV and the digital podcast generation (per Rolling Stone).

O’Brien said that he already started writing and rehearsing for the Oscars, arguably one of the most thankless gigs in Hollywood. “I started writing a while ago,” he shared in a candid interview with The New Yorker.

The Late Night host continued, “Ideas are like R.A.F. pilots in 1940. You have to generate a lot of them. A lot of them fall by the wayside, and then some endure. And so we’ve been going for a while. We’ve got a great writers’ room, and I’ve already started going to clubs to try out material, which is really fun. It’s good to keep you in shape or get you ready.”

Besides preparing the right tone and attitude to handle the Oscars this year, O’Brien will also ensure that he steals some hearts on Hollywood’s big night.

“Yeah, mostly cosmetic,” he responded when asked if he had done any work for the approaching Oscars, as reported by Good Morning America. “I want to look like Oscar on Oscar night. Yeah. So, I've had a lot of areas smoothed, some removed. Um, that's going to be good.

The five-time Emmy Award winner admitted that he feels nervous about “unplanned disaster happening,” such as getting slapped, ever since the viral Will Smith incident.

“Well, you know, I don’t want anyone to slap me,” he joked.

As Hollywood prepares for its most prestigious night, all eyes are on Conan O'Brien to prove himself as a competent Oscar host for the second year in a row.

The gifted comedian and spontaneous TV host now stands as the perfect bridge between traditional Hollywood and digital and podcast-era fans. He has already won over audiences of pure hosting gold during his nearly three-decade career, while his spontaneous style and deadpan humor ensure that younger crowds are equally entertained.

O’Brien already hosted the 2025 Oscars and made it look easy, and it seems he is aiming for the stars for the upcoming ceremony, even though hosting the Oscars can be a low-reward gig.

The talk show alum is aware that hosting a TV show is very different from hosting a once-in-a-year ceremony, both in how he handles it and the type of reward.

“There's a lot of chatter about how it's a thankless task to host one of these shows,” he told iHollywoodTV. “I didn't find that to be true. I just found it to be a fun gig. And I enjoyed it. I had a lovely evening and [music] had a lot of laughs, and so that's why I wanted to do it again.”

O'Brien has already done his homework to ensure no one is let down during one of the most important nights in show business. He expressed eagerness to “lift people up” and honor the entire entertainment community, not just the Hollywood royalty (per PEOPLE).

“It’s a celebration of an entire industry and people from every walk of life who give their blood, sweat, and tears for show business,” he said. Finally, O'Brien promised that for this year’s show, he will deliver the Oscar-level performance everyone is looking for: “I don’t want to let America down.”

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