For the second year in a row, the Academy Awards is going without a host for the 2020 ceremony.
Karey Burke, entertainment president for ABC made the announcement yesterday in a statement, “Together with the Academy, we have decided there will be no traditional host, repeating for us what worked last year. It will have huge entertainment values, big musical numbers, comedy and star power.”
Last year was the start again of a hostless Oscar ceremony since 1989 after Kevin Hart’s hosting gig got cancelled by a surfaced decade-old tweet. The Academy producers and ABC made all attempts in getting a possible replacement but failed to contract an A-lister comedian/host that will pick up the role.
The host-less show last year however, recorded a 12% uptick in viewers and 13% in the adults’ 18-49 demographic compared to the 2018 ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel recording an all-time low in total viewers.
Talking about the star power promise in the statement of Burke, the shortlist of films released by the Academy already envelopes the show to be a star-studded one. The big musical numbers will also see the light of day with the likes of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Elton John ticked as possible frontrunners in the best original song category for 2020.
The Academy is set to air live on ABC come February 9, at the Dolby Theater. Nominees will be announced on Monday January 13, 2020.
