OSCARS TO FEAST ON KIMMEL & BITS
Kimmel to be latest edgy Oscar host
AND THE Oscars hosting gig goes to . . . Jimmy Kimmel.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has tapped the late night personality to host the 89th annual Academy Awards in February, the Hollywood Reporter first reported.
The selection of Kimmel by producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd makes sense on several fronts — especially because ABC, which airs “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” recently completed a deal to broadcast the Oscars through 2028.
The network pays $75 million a year for those rights, and could use the high-profile stage to raise their late-night star’s own profile.
But Kimmel also got mostly positive reviews for hosting the Emmys this past September, his second stint with the most important awards show for the television industry.
Kimmel has a tough act to follow after Chris Rock’s stint as host this past February. The “Saturday Night Live” veteran managed to navigate lambasting the Oscars So White controversy — in which no person of color was nominated in any of the acting categories for the second straight year — and still keep the audience laughing.
But that telecast still drew a disappointing 34.3 million total viewers, an 11-year ratings low for an Oscar show.
Kimmel, though, poses some risk for the academy considering he’s an envelope pusher — not just an envelope opener.
He drew gasps during the Emmys with a deadpan call to welcome “four-time Emmy Award winner Dr. Bill Cosby” — though the scandal-scarred celebrity wasn’t really there.
He also angered Donald Trump supporters with repeated digs at the Republican presidential candidate.
Other unpredictable TV personalities like Seth MacFarlane (2013) and David Letterman (1995) got mixed reviews after their hosting gigs.
This year’s ceremony will air on Sunday, Feb. 26, on ABC.