Jimmy Kimmel to Return as Host for 96th Academy Awards: 'Dreamed of Hosting the Oscars Exactly Four Times'

Jimmy Kimmel will be gracing the Dolby Theatre stage once again!

The late-night talk show star, 56, is set to return as host of the 96th Oscars, the Academy announced on Wednesday.

“I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” Kimmel said in a release.

For this year's ceremony, Kimmel will also be joined by his wife and Jimmy Kimmel Live! co-head writer, Molly McNearney, who earned an Emmy nomination for her work as a writer and executive producer of the 2023 event. She returns as an executive producer for next year's broadcast.

“We are thrilled about Jimmy returning to host and Molly returning as executive producer for the Oscars. They share our love of movies and our commitment to producing a dynamic and entertaining show for our global audience,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang.

Kramer and Yang continued, “We are deeply grateful to Jimmy, Molly and their teams for their incredible creativity and partnership and for going on this ride with us again.”

This will be Kimmel’s fourth time as emcee and his second consecutive year since he hosted the Oscars last year — which Entertainment Weekly reported was the most watched of any awards show in three years with 18.7 million viewers.

He also hosted the ceremony in 2017 and 2018 before it went host-less from 2019 to 2021. Oscars 2022 saw Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer as hosts.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Last month, the Academy announced the creative team behind the ABC broadcast, which will be led by director Hamish Hamilton for the fourth time. Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullen will be first-time executive producers of the upcoming program, with Kapoor doubling as showrunner.

“Jimmy has cemented himself as one of the all-time great Oscars hosts with his perfect blend of humanity and humor, and Molly is one of the best live TV producers around. We are delighted to be working with them and their teams on the show,” Kapoor and Mullan said in the Academy's news release on Wednesday.

The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Ovation Hollywood.