Conan O’Brien to Host 2027 Oscars for Third Straight Year

The Academy is betting on Conan O’Brien again as the Oscars works to keep awards-show audiences engaged.

KEY Highlights:

• Conan O’Brien will host the 99th Academy Awards in 2027.
• The Oscars will air March 14, 2027, on ABC and Hulu.
• Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan will return as executive producers.
• The move extends O’Brien’s run after two well-received Oscar telecasts.

Conan O’Brien will return as host of the 99th Academy Awards in 2027, the Academy and ABC announced Tuesday during Disney’s upfront presentation in New York. The decision keeps one of television’s most familiar comedy voices at the center of Hollywood’s biggest night as awards shows continue competing for live viewers and online attention.

The 2027 Oscars are scheduled for March 14 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with the ceremony airing live on ABC and streaming on Hulu. It will mark O’Brien’s third consecutive turn as host, a rare modern run for an Oscars emcee.

The Academy also confirmed that Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan will return as executive producers for a fourth consecutive year. Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney are also coming back as producers, with Sweeney serving as a writer.

O’Brien’s return gives the Oscars a steady hand at a time when the ceremony is balancing tradition with the demands of a fragmented entertainment audience. Awards shows no longer command the automatic mass viewership they once did, but the Oscars remain a major cultural event for film studios, stars, streamers and advertisers.

For ABC and the Academy, O’Brien offers something valuable: a host who can handle old-school Hollywood pageantry while still generating clips that travel across digital platforms. His style has leaned on sharp writing, physical comedy and a willingness to poke fun at the ceremony without seeming detached from it.

O’Brien first hosted the Oscars in 2025 and returned for the 2026 ceremony. His comeback next year suggests producers see continuity as an advantage, especially after years in which the Academy experimented with different host formats and approaches.

The choice also reflects how much the Oscars now depend on personality-driven moments. A host is no longer just a master of ceremonies. The role has become part comedy anchor, part traffic controller and part viral-content engine.

O’Brien entered the Oscar stage with decades of late-night experience, including “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show” and “Conan.” More recently, he has built a second act through podcasting, travel television and live comedy, keeping him visible to both longtime fans and younger audiences who encounter his work online.

His return arrives as Hollywood prepares for another year shaped by franchise films, prestige releases, streaming contenders and ongoing changes in how audiences watch movies. The 99th Oscars will be one of the final ceremonies before the Academy reaches its 100th anniversary, adding extra pressure to maintain momentum.

The Academy has not announced nominees, presenters or special segments for the 2027 show. Those details will come later as the awards season develops.

For now, the message is clear: the Oscars are choosing familiarity, comedy experience and a proven live-TV performer. O’Brien’s third run gives the 2027 ceremony a recognizable face before the race for best picture even begins.