Comic Jimmy Kimmel will return as host of the Oscars, marking the second time in a row and fourth over-all that the Academy of Motion Image Arts and Sciences has chosen him to direct the award display.
“I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars precisely 4 situations,” Kimmel said in a assertion on Wednesday. HuffPost reached out to Kimmel’s workforce for added remark but did not obtain an immediate response.
The 96th Academy Awards will be broadcast dwell on ABC and other stores on March 10 from Los Angeles. Kimmel, the host and government producer of the late-evening converse exhibit “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” will be returning as host with his wife, Molly McNearney, as govt producer for the second consecutive year.
“We are thrilled about Jimmy returning to host and Molly returning as government producer for the Oscars,” academy CEO Monthly bill Kramer and academy President Janet Yang reported in a assertion. “They share our appreciate of films and our motivation to developing a dynamic and entertaining exhibit for our world wide audience.”
Kimmel, who was lauded by the show’s government producers as “one of the all-time terrific Oscars hosts,” first led the Academy Awards display in 2017 and took the position once again in 2018. From 2019 to 2021, the Oscars gala was hindered by the coronavirus pandemic and did not have a host, with the 2021 presentation drawing the lowest viewership in the show’s record at 10.4 million, Deadline described.
But viewership spiked this year when the academy brought Kimmel back again to host the exhibit, with approximately 19 million sights in 2023, a sizeable enhance from the 16.6 million in 2022, according to The New York Occasions.
“After his triumphant return to the Oscars phase very last year, we are honored to have Jimmy again to guidebook us by 1 of the most beloved celebrations in leisure,” Craig Erwich, president of ABC Enjoyment, Hulu and Disney Branded Tv Streaming Originals, said in a statement.