Jimmy Kimmel will once again host the Academy Awards ceremony next year after he served that role in 2017. The 2017 Oscars turned out to be one of the most memorable ceremonies ever, but for all the wrong reasons. TV history was made when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the wrong winner for Best Picture, handing the trophy to La La Land when in fact Moonlight was the actual victor. Host Jimmy Kimmel was then put in the incredibly awkward position of having to take the stage and sort out the biggest mess in the history of the Oscars.
Kimmel’s handling of the infamous Best Picture gaffe was about as graceful as anyone could have expected, but overall the comedian’s performance was met with criticism by many. Kimmel’s choice as host was controversial to begin with, and after the telecast’s low ratings, there was plenty of reason to believe Kimmel would not be back for a second go-around. But it appears those concerns about Kimmel’s future as Oscars host were in fact unfounded.
As reported by Variety, ABC has decided to look beyond the low ratings for his first year as host and invite Kimmel back to act as Master of Ceremonies for the 2018 telecast. This decision marks a change for the Oscars, who have implemented a revolving-door policy for hosts over the past two decades. Billy Crystal was the last person who hosted the Oscars in back-to-back years for the 1996 and 1997 ceremonies.
Jimmy Kimmel expressed his gratitude to producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd (who will also be back for 2018) in a statement while joking about the unforgettable gaffe that ended his first go-around as host:
Hosting the Oscars was a highlight of my career and I am grateful to Cheryl, Dawn and the Academy for asking me to return to work with two of my favorite people, Mike De Luca and Jennifer Todd. If you think we screwed up the ending this year, wait until you see what we have planned for the 90th anniversary show!
Though Kimmel’s first time as host will largely be remembered for things that were out of everyone’s control, he did manage to make his mark in other ways. Among Kimmel’s more memorable bits were a series of jokes about his mock feud with Matt Damon, culminating in a joke where he conducted the orchestra to drown Damon out while the actor was trying to present. Kimmel also delighted the assembled hungry Hollywood elite by at one point parachuting snacks down from the ceiling. Though Kimmel brought politics to the table, his political material did not make a huge impact.
One joke that bombed in a lot of people’s eyes saw Kimmel bringing a group of tourists into the theater who had no idea they were about to witness the Oscars first-hand and meet their favorite stars in person. Though some of the reactions of the normal people were funny, a lot of folks thought the joke took too long to unfold and disrupted the flow of the ceremony. Kimmel will get a chance to come back for a second year and refine his approach to hosting, perhaps with an eye toward balancing his own jokes and keeping the show moving.
The 90th Oscars are set to be held on March 4th, 2018.
