Hosting the Oscars is a storied gig and one that any entertainer would be very, very lucky to land. This year comedian Kevin Hart is that very lucky man, as he and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences confirmed he will host the 91st Academy Awards in 2019. In securing the gig Hart joins a very exclusive club, becoming only the fourth African American to host the ceremony after Richard Pryor (1977, 1983), Whoopi Goldberg (1993, 1995, 1998, 2001) and Chris Rock (2005, 2016).
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A first time Oscar host he will be joining first time Oscar producers Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, and all three of them have difficult tasks ahead of them. The Oscar viewership has been dipping over the years, and last year – hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second time in a row – saw the show go to a record low of 26.5 million viewers. In an attempt to shake things up, the producers have assured the broadcast won’t go over three hours, with several categories being presented during commercial breaks and with excerpts of winning speeches shown when the show comes back. Thank our lucky stars, the Best Popular Movie award remains shelved (for now).
Hart took to Instagram to confirm his hosting gig with a lengthy post after news around a discussion between him and the Academy surfaced earlier yesterday. You can read it in its entirety below, free of any play-off music.
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Hart is a wise choice to host the ceremony. The actor is coming off big-screen hits like CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE and JUMANJI (both alongside Dwayne Johnson), with this year's NIGHT SCHOOL with Tiffany Haddish also earning solid numbers. On top of that, the comedian often sells out stadiums like Madison Square Garden for his comedy acts, as seen in his theatrically-released stand-up specials, which also do quite well. He already hosted the MTV Movie Awards (also alongside Johnson), and though that’s hardly the biggest stage in entertainment, it’s one more check off the box that proves he’s ready for the biggest of gigs.
The 91st Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC February 24, 2019.