Jimmy Kimmel has been tapped to host the 2017 Academy Awards. The awards ceremony, which will take place in Los Angeles on February 26th, will be Kimmels first time hosting the prestigious ceremony.
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the comedians new gig. Earlier this year, Kimmel hosted the Emmy Awards for the first time. He touched on current events like the election in tandem with the years big nominees like The People vs. O.J. Simpson. Despite positive reception, the 2016 Emmys fell to an all-time ratings low of 11.3 million viewers.
Chris Rock hosted the most recent Oscar ceremony to rave review, 11 years after his last appearance as the shows host. The 2016 festivities were shrouded in controversy due to the lack of diversity amongst its nominees, which Rock addressed directly. Given the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and even boycott, the Academy pledged to make sweeping and historic changes to its membership to double the number of women and minority voters by 2020.