The countdown is on for the 98th Oscars, with Conan O’Brien back and a
'moving' in memoriam
[March 11, 2026]
By LINDSEY BAHR
Lynette Howell Taylor has seen the Oscars from a few different vantage
points: As a nominee, in 2019 for “A Star is Born,” as a producer of the
broadcast in 2020, as a member of the film academy’s board of governors
and, for the last three years, as awards chair. It’s made her first year
as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feel
like a natural transition. And one thing she is certain of is that every
Oscars is unique.
“Every year is different,” Taylor said in a recent interview alongside
film Academy CEO Bill Kramer. “Every season is different. Every set of
movies is different. And so, the show is always different every year.”
It’s a tricky thing to both honor the people in the room while also
making an entertaining show for a home audience. But behind the scenes,
from returning host Conan O’Brien to the producers and Emmy-winning
production design team, is a group of people who know how to dazzle a
global audience.
“I think we, in the past couple of years, have really hit that balance
right,” Kramer said. “We’re looking at that puzzle constantly and this
year is going to be spectacular.”
Final preparations are underway for the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday
and everyone is feeling good about what they have planned, including
performances, tributes and a special spotlight for their newest award
for casting. It helps that the top nominees, “Sinners” and “One Battle
After Another,” happen to be great.
“It’s always about the movies and the movies this year? They’re all the
things,” Taylor said. “There are escapist movies, big commercial movies,
there are movies that are really brave and really bold in their
storytelling … I get really emotional when I talk about the quality of
this year’s films.”
Growing the audience
The ratings for the Oscars have been ticking up since plummeting to an
all-time low in 2021 during the pandemic. The winning movie last year, “Anora,”
might have been smaller than “Oppenheimer” the previous year, but
ratings still went up slightly from 19.5 million in 2024 to 19.7 million
in 2025.
The show had an especially big lift among people ages 18 to 49, driven
by mobile and laptop watches from younger viewers. Last year was the
first time the ceremony was available to stream live on Hulu. They’ve
also been partnering with popular internet personalities like Amelia
Dimoldenberg in an effort to reach new audiences in a way that still
feels “Academy appropriate.”
“Our audiences are growing,” Kramer said. “And young people are watching
the show in ways that we’ve not seen before and that’s really great.”
Early planning and last-minute pivots
Boosted ratings might not be a coincidence with the fact that planning
for the show has been starting earlier and earlier in recent years.
“It gives us time to talk through so many things pre-nominations. So
once the nominations happen, we can start focusing on what that means
for the show,” Kramer said. “There’s not a lot of last-minute panicking
over anything.”
One of the ways that will manifest in this year’s show is the production
design, from the set to the red carpet, details are pored over for many
months.
“They’ve done such beautiful work … and this year, they’ve just gone a
whole step further with a different feel that’s very intimate and warm,”
Taylor said. “It’s a bit of a departure.”
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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Lynette
Howell Taylor, left, and CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences, Bill Kramer, appear during the 98th Academy Awards
nominations announcement in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 22, 2026.
(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
 Though a lot is pre-planned, they're
also always thinking of ways to meet the moment, which has led to
some major showstoppers. Last year’s big opener with Cynthia Erivo
and Ariana Grande was a relatively late addition and ended up being
one of the more memorable parts.
“We’re open to pivoting, depending on what’s going on in the world,”
Kramer said.
A very special in memoriam
The deaths of many beloved figures in the film world over the past
year have hit hard, including Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Rob
Reiner, Catherine O’Hara, Robert Duvall, Val Kilmer, Malcolm-Jamal
Warner, James Van Der Beek and Claudia Cardinale, just to name a
few.
Last year Morgan Freeman took the stage to honor Gene Hackman, who
had been found dead just days earlier, and others. This year there
have been rumors about Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal joining forces for
Reiner, but the organizers are neither confirming nor denying that
reunion.
“Obviously we’re paying special attention to the in memoriam this
year. It’s going to be robust and beautiful and very, very moving,”
Kramer said. “We won’t give away any secrets. You’ll have to tune
in.”
As always, there will be a longer version of the in memoriam
available online to recognize people who might not make the
broadcast cut.
It'll be three-and-a-half hours. Really.
The longest broadcast in Oscars history, the 74th show in 2002
hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, clocked in at four hours and 23 minutes.
But even with a new category, the people behind the show are
striving to do it in three-and-a-half hours, or less.
“It’s a lot of moving pieces, but it’s totally doable,” Kramer said.
“And casting’s going to get a gorgeous moment on the show.”
Taylor added that awards shows are like movies. Sometimes a long
film can feel like “watching paint dry.” Other times, it flies by.
“We really focus on making the show as dynamic and emotionally
connecting as possible and really celebrating movies in a way that
audiences want to stay tuned for,” Taylor said.
Looking toward 100 and a future on YouTube
Planning is already underway for the 100th Oscars in 2028. They’re
also charting a course beyond too: In 2029, the Oscars will move
from traditional broadcast television to YouTube.
“YouTube signals our desire to be a more global organization that
reaches more audiences around the world,” Kramer said. “The Oscars
are just one part of a year-round deal where we’re building a hub
for cinema on YouTube that will have our SciTech Awards, our museum
programming. Google Arts and Culture will be digitizing components
of our collection and making it available to the public. This is all
about reach and growing audiences.”
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