Conan O’Brien isn’t done with the Oscars yet.
ABC and Disney, the network’s corporate parent, announced on Tuesday that Mr. O’Brien would return to host next year’s Oscars, making it three consecutive years he will oversee the ceremony.
Though there have been plenty of repeat hosts before — Jimmy Kimmel has hosted four times, Steve Martin three and Chris Rock twice, to name a few — this will be the first time anyone has been in the job for three straight years since Billy Crystal in the early 1990s.
For much of the past decade, celebrities have shown less and less interest in hosting big award shows. Critics can be merciless, ratings have been generally declining, and comedians and their management teams increasingly view hosting gigs as a high-risk, low-reward task.
Mr. O’Brien, however, has taken to the job with gusto, and has been widely praised. Reviews for his performances have been glowing, with critics, ABC (the event broadcaster) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences all issuing raves.
“Conan has created remarkable energy around the Oscars,” Craig Erwich, the president of Disney’s television group, said in a statement. “His singular comedic voice makes Hollywood’s biggest night one of the most entertaining celebrations of the year.”
Ratings shot up in Mr. O’Brien’s first year as host, though they declined the second time around.
The 99th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 14, and air on ABC and stream on Hulu. Disney will also air the 2028 Oscars, but then a new distributor will take over the broadcast rights for the first time in more than 50 years: YouTube.
