The 2020 Oscars nixed finding a host for the second year in a row, but they’ve booked a bunch of A-list Oscar winners as presenters to give the show some sheen.
On Tuesday, the 92nd Academy Awards announced that Oscar winners Mahershala Ali, Olivia Colman, Regina King and Rami Malek will be among the presenters doling out awards on Sunday, Feb. 9, from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Ali won the 2019 Best Supporting Actor statue for “Green Book,” as well as the same honor for the 2017 indie film “Moonlight.” Colman captured last year’s Best Actress win for “The Favourite,” with Malek scoring the Best Actor statue for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” King won the 2019 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of the James Baldwin novel “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
The Oscars could have gone the same route as the Golden Globes, which signed up host Ricky Gervais, who ripped Hollywood a new sass-hole by skewering Leonardo DiCaprio’s seemingly age-inappropriate dates, James Corden’s and Judi Dench’s performances in “Cats” and Felicity Huffman’s time in jail after the college admissions scandal. Even with Gervais at the helm, tossing out brash bon mots, the ratings took a dip.
Instead, a stream of celebrity presenters will keep things moving with their own jesty jabs, rather than those of a single host, as the Oscars may hope to retain the 2019 viewership levels. Last year the show reached 29.6 million viewers; the 2018 awards recorded a new audience low of 26.54 million.
The 2019 Oscars featured celebs such as “Saturday Night Live” veterans Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph, as well as show-stopping performances — including an intimate “Shallow” duet by “A Star Is Born” actors Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper and a medley of music by Queen in a nod to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The 2020 Oscars ceremony will broadcast live Feb. 9 starting at 8 p.m. on ABC.