Jimmy Kimmel is ready to host the Oscars again, completing a trilogy that started with him presiding over the chaotic "envelope-gate" ceremony. The late-night talk show host will preside over the ceremony in March, the show's producers said Monday, per the AP. Kimmel has hosted the show twice before: in 2017, when he managed the chaotic final moments in which the wrong best picture winner was called, and then the next year, which came just months into the #MeToo reckoning.
"Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap," Kimmel said. "Either way, I am grateful to the Academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no." After the 90th Oscars in 2018, which Kimmel hosted to generally positive reviews, the Academy Awards went without a host until the 94th ceremony earlier this year, when Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes shared the stage. Molly McNearney, who's the co-head writer and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and is married to Kimmel, will also serve as an executive producer on the Oscars broadcast.
Ratings have been a bit a of a roller coaster for the Hollywood awards show. The 94th Oscars was an improvement with 15.36 million viewers, but that was also in comparison to the previous year's record low, which befell many COVID-modified awards shows. The March 12 show is the first to follow "the slap," in which Will Smith struck presenter Chris Rock on stage. Smith, who went on to win best actor that night, was banned from the Oscars for 10 years as a result. The organization's leadership has said that they'd like to move on from that incident and focus on a ceremony that celebrates cinema.
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