Andy Richter steps backstage at the Oscars, turning a familiar partnership into a new kind of access
At 7 p. m. ET on Oscars night, andy richter won’t be at the center of the Dolby Theatre stage—he’ll be just behind it, stationed backstage to host a special TikTok Live stream for ABC while Conan O’Brien hosts the 98th Academy Awards.
What exactly will andy richter do during the 98th Academy Awards?
Andy Richter will be stationed backstage hosting a TikTok Live stream for ABC, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood’s biggest night while the televised ceremony unfolds. The setup is designed to run parallel to the main broadcast: while viewers watch the awards on television, the TikTok stream is positioned as a second window into the event, built around quick interactions and spontaneous moments rather than a formal, scripted segment.
Richter publicly shared the news on Instagram with a familiar rhythm of banter alongside O’Brien. In the exchange, Richter joked, “I’ll just be running around, bothering people with no idea why I’m there or what I’m supposed to do. ” O’Brien replied, “Well, why should that night be any different?” The humor lands as a character note, but it also outlines the job itself: movement, improvisation, and the kind of light disruption that can pull an unexpected moment into view.
Why this reunion matters for Conan O’Brien’s Oscars—and for late-night fans
The backstage role carries more weight than a simple cameo because it reconnects a long-running on-air partnership in a new format. Richter spent years as O’Brien’s comedy partner, first on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and later on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, before continuing the partnership on the TBS series Conan. Even without sharing a nightly desk anymore, Richter remains part of Team Coco’s podcast operation, making his presence during O’Brien’s second turn as Oscars host feel like an extension of a working relationship rather than a nostalgic drop-in.
The Oscars have long relied on familiar faces to create momentum in a live broadcast, and the TikTok Live element adds a different kind of energy: fast, informal, and built around the feeling that anything might happen because the camera can move. Hosting from backstage is also, by design, a way to catch viewers during breaks in the main telecast—something to check in on during commercial breaks or whenever Richter manages to rope a famous face into a quick interview or bit.
The concept of bringing a host’s sidekick into the show has precedent. When Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony during his four turns as emcee, he often brought in Guillermo Rodriguez, who became a recurring presence in segments and red carpet moments. The comparison sets expectations: there may be recurring interactions and running jokes, but the tone and the boundaries will be different. The backstage TikTok Live is framed as an alternative experience rather than a replication of the main broadcast’s biggest beats.
Who else is involved: Jimmy Kimmel returns as a presenter
While Richter takes the backstage lane, the onstage presenter lineup includes Jimmy Kimmel, adding another late-night figure to the same ceremony. The Academy has tapped Kimmel as one of the presenters for Sunday’s presentation of the 98th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The telecast begins at 7 p. m. ET on ABC and will be streamed live on Hulu.
Kimmel has hosted the Academy Awards four times—2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024—and his return as a presenter comes alongside O’Brien hosting for a second straight year. O’Brien’s return follows a well-received debut, and the ceremony’s viewership reached a five-year high in that earlier outing. In the broader calculus of a live show, the combination of a returning host and recognizable presenters can function as reassurance: familiar hands in roles that require timing, comfort with the camera, and the ability to keep the night moving.
At ABC, Rob Mills, EVP of Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, described an interest in having Kimmel host again in 2025, saying, “If he wants to sign a lifetime contract, I would love that. ” Kimmel declined hosting in 2025, but his presence this year still threads him into the night’s larger late-night ecosystem.
The announced presenter roster also includes Rose Byrne, described as the nominated star of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, a film in which Conan O’Brien made his dramatic acting debut as a therapist. It’s a small detail, but it underscores a recurring Oscars dynamic: the ceremony often becomes a crossroads where comedy, performance, and industry relationships overlap—sometimes onstage, sometimes in the margins.
For viewers, the split-screen reality of this year’s show is straightforward: O’Brien hosts the televised ceremony; Kimmel appears as a presenter; and andy richter operates in the in-between spaces, where winners pass through, presenters wait their turn, and a few unscripted seconds can feel more revealing than a rehearsed line.
Backstage, the job is less about delivering a perfect sentence than catching a real one. And as the lights rise and the show moves forward, the question isn’t only what happens on the Dolby Theatre stage—it’s what the roaming camera finds when andy richter goes looking for a moment that can’t be planned.
