The Oscars will be hosted by late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel for a record-breaking fourth time, the organizers said on Wednesday.
Hollywood’s biggest awards event will be hosted by Kimmel for the second year in a row, following a strong broadcast showing of the well-reviewed ceremony last year.
“I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” joked Kimmel, in a statement issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and broadcaster ABC.
Kimmel was called “one of the all-time great Oscars hosts,” with executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan complimenting his “perfect blend of humanity and humor.”
The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood will host the 96th Academy Awards on March 10.
Kimmel had previously served as presenter of the event in 2017, which culminated in the notorious error that resulted in “La La Land” being inadvertently awarded best picture in 2018.
He was brought back for the 2023 edition. Kimmel was widely viewed as a safe pair of hands — much needed, as the previous year’s ceremony had featured Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage for cracking a joke about his wife.
The ceremony in March kicked off with Kimmel being lowered onto the stage as two US Navy jets flew over the theater, and at one point featured the host accompanied to the podium by a miniature emotional support donkey.
Oscars television ratings increased for the second year in a row, as 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch hit sci-fi flick “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominate the proceedings.
The growing trend is a much-needed boost for live awards programs, which have been losing viewers overall as social media highlight highlights and streamers fight for viewers’ attention.
Hollywood is struggling to recover this year following the first simultaneous strikes by writers and performers in sixty years, which nearly brought the business to a complete halt for many months.
