Anna Daniels
Posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2020 by Fred Topel
The 2019 Oscar ceremony went without a host. It was a somewhat last minute decision. The Academy hired Kevin Hart to host the show, but then asked him to apologize for old tweets making homophobic jokes. Two days later, Hart stepped down as host leaving the Academy and network little time to find a replacement. Apparently, the hostless show was successful enough that the network has decided to repeat it for the 2020 Oscars.
ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke spoke to the Television Critics Association today when she made that announcement. Taking questions from reporters, Burke explained the decision and why the network is confident they’ll have another successful Oscars telecast.
What Made Oscars 2019 a hit
With less time for a host’s monologue, musical numbers and/or banter between nominees, the 2019 Oscars telecast focused more on the films and nominees. Highlights included Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s performance of their song from A Star is Born and Gaga’s Oscar win.
“We expect that we’re going to have another very commercial set of nominations,” Burke said. “A lot of incredible elements have already come together to convince us we’re going to have an incredibly entertaining show again. Our goal is to present the most entertaining show possible. The producers are already putting together a plan for what is going to be an incredibly entertaining telecast.”
2020 movies are looking up
The front runners for Oscar nominations this year include hit films like Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Hustlers, Joker, The Irishman, Marriage Story, Rocketman, and 1917. Burke is confident that this year’s nominees will bring in viewers like last year’s slate of A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Roman, BlackKklansman, Vice and The Favourite.
“It was so entertaining,” Burke said of last year’s Oscars. “It was filled with surprises. It was tight and I think you saw the results of that with the ratings being up with double digits. We felt lucky to have such great movies being nominated but we are feeling like we are going to have a slate that is that strong again this year, which is why we feel really confident in this decision.”
Next year might have an Oscars host again
Burke said this year’s decision does not rule out having a host for the 2021 Oscars. She said the network and Academy will decide year by year.
“The producers of the Oscars really have a heavy hand in the decision making as well,” Burke said. “So we work with them and our partners at the Academy to make a decision.”
The 2019 Emmys copied the hostless award show and received more criticism for it. Asked to suggest a host for the 2020 Emmys, Burke joked, “Baby Yoda?”
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