Leaving aside the controversy surrounding 'Green Book' picking up Best Picture and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' picking up Best Editing, the one part of the Oscars this year that went reasonably smoothly was it not having a host.
As you may recall, Kevin Hart was initially called up to act as host. However, when homophobic tweets he made some years ago resurfaced, Hart stepped aside and there was a whole rigmarole involving him coming back, or finding a replacement. At any rate, the ceremony was hostless for the first time in decades and, by all accounts, it went a lot more smoothly than anyone would have anticipated.
Per THR, ABC - the US network which carries the Oscars each year - have indicated that they're considering making the Oscars hostless again in 2020. "We’re having those conversations with the Academy right now," said ABC chief Karey Burke. "We are extremely happy with how the show went. Odds are you’ll see us repeating what we consider to be a successful formula."
One of the major problems ABC has had with the Oscars of late is its significant runtime, often exceeding three hours. This led them to try and push some of the categories into the non-televised parts of the show and then showing an edited version later on. Naturally, of course, the plan was met with a massive backlash and was then quickly scrapped.
Removing the host's monologue and their check-in moments throughout the show made for a far more efficient, neater show - so it makes sense that they're looking at it for 2020. Given as well how it's considered to be one of the most thankless jobs in the industry, and how the scrutiny it brings often isn't worth it, remaining hostless from now on might just be the thing to do.
