13 Comedians Who Could Host the 2025 Oscars
Maybe hosting the Academy Awards was a glitzy gig when the show was still getting blockbuster ratings. Bob Hope hosted or co-hosted the Oscars 19 times, and Billy Crystal did so on nine occasions. Now, though, it seems like a high-risk, low-reward job that no one is busting down the Academy’s doors to get.
In July, we learned that Jimmy Kimmel and John Mulaney each passed on the chance to host the 97th Academy Awards on ABC, declining what would have been Kimmel’s fifth time as Oscars host and Mulaney’s first.
The producers behind Hollywood’s biggest night, however, still have months to go before curtain-up, and we have a list of potential first-time hosts they could call…
The Oscars, Sunday, March 2, 2025, 7/6c, ABC
Kenan Thompson
Saturday Night Live’s longest-tenured cast member hosted the 2022 Emmys, and the 2025 Oscars could be the next step in his career. He could either emcee as himself or as fictitious Cinema Classics presenter Reese De’What.
Kristen Wiig & Will Ferrell
Speaking of SNL MVPs, these two had Hollywood in stitches at the 2024 Golden Globes — just as they did at the same show 11 years earlier, when they sang the praises of “Mariel” Streep. If there were a prize for awards show presenters…
Kate McKinnon
And while we’re on the topic of all-time Saturday Night Live greats, we can’t not nominate McKinnon, whose comedy chops had SNL hosts and costars cracking up during her time on the show. (Phone home, Miss Rafferty!)
Kevin Hart
Hart was set to host the 2019 Oscars until prior homophobic jokes cost him the gig. He has since apologized, recently telling WSJ Magazine the scandal was a “crash course … that was necessary.” If he’s up for it, we’d give him another chance.
Eddie Murphy
In another near-miss, Murphy dropped out of hosting the 2012 Oscars following a scandal over producer Brett Ratner’s anti-gay remarks. The comic is back in the spotlight with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, so maybe now is his Oscars moment.
Tig Notaro, Mae Martin & Fortune Feimster
Name a more Handsome trio than these three comedians, whose work on that podcast is somehow even greater than the sum of individual brilliance. Plus, their star-studded interview lineup shows they have major Hollywood sway.
Hannah Einbinder
As if her thrice-Emmy-nominated Hacks performance weren’t impressive enough, Einbinder has won critical praise for her new Max comedy special, Everything Must Go. That momentum could easily carry her to the Dolby Theatre stage.
Jim Carrey
How is it that Carrey, one of Hollywood’s most bankable comedians, hasn’t yet hosted a major awards show? We’d thank the Academy for righting that wrong with the 2025 ceremony, especially because we could use a dose of Carrey’s goofball energy.
Hannah Gadsby
Ali Wong
While we’re on the topic of Netflix-famous comedians, Wong’s stand-up has been tickling subscribers for years. And she’s an awards show darling this year: Her Beef performance made her the first Asian woman to win an Emmy for a lead role.
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