The Walt Disney Company
03/10/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/10/2026 11:37
How Conan O'Brien Is Getting Ready for the 2026 Oscars® on ABC and Hulu
How Conan O'Brien Is Getting Ready for the 2026 Oscars® on ABC and Hulu
March 10, 20263 min. read
When Conan O'Brien hosted the 97th Oscars® on ABC and Hulu in 2025, critics said the comedian was at his "acerbic best" (Variety). And, because he helped bring the telecast to a five-year ratings high, it should come as no surprise that he was asked to return for this year's show.
"That experience was fun for me," O'Brien said. "My old rule is that if it's fun for me to do it, it might be fun for people to watch it. There's a lot of chatter about how it's a thankless task to host one of these shows, and I didn't find that to be true. I found it to be a fun gig; I enjoyed it."
Still, O'Brien admitted he's learned from past mistakes.
"Last year, I ate a massive Italian meal just before going onstage. Huge! Multiple cutlets of veal parmesan, mountains of meatballs, spaghetti carbonara, and then I drank a huge glass of warm cream. Those things weighed me down a bit," he joked. "This year, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to have a very simple Japanese bento box - a little bit of raw fish, maybe some edamame - and then I'll hit the stage. It's going to be a bit lighter this year."
Meal prep aside, O'Brien and the team of writers are also prepping jokes for the ceremony, which will be held on Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. "I don't care how long someone has been in the business of making people laugh: getting a laugh is as exciting now at my age as it was when I was 12," O'Brien said. "It's the same endorphins, the same chemicals, the same sense of 'Oh, my God! I'm so glad that worked!'"
Finding the humor in the unexpected can be "very humbling," O'Brien continued. "You're always looking for that moment when you can get everyone to agree that something's funny, or something's ironic, or something's weird… If you can get that laugh, and you feel like everyone else in this room is agreeing with you in this very primal way, it's delightful."
Hosted by Conan O'Brien, The Oscars will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu on Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
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