telecast

In tapping a seasoned veteran, the show’s producers are banking that O’Brien — much like fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who helmed the 2017 telecast during the infamous “Moonlight” best picture mix-up — will have the chops to navigate the unpredictability of live TV while delivering some much-needed levity.

March’s telecast, boosted by the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon and hosted by third-time emcee Kimmel, drew 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from the previous year.

In earlier attempts to streamline the telecast and tweak its formula, the Oscars went without a host from 2019 to 2021, and in 2023 the ceremony featured a trio of hosts — Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall — on a night overshadowed by Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock.

Looking ahead to next year’s show — the first of two remaining in the academy’s half-century-long deal with CBS before the Grammys show moves to Disney’s ABC network in 2027 — Mason laughed when asked if the Beatles’ nomination might induce Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to perform together on the telecast.

Before King’s pronouncement, the crowd, heavy on current Howard students and alumni, danced to music by Prince, Missy Elliott and Ciara — and cheered whenever the CNN telecast revealed that Harris was projected to win a state.