Hollywood still has a bit of work to do before the 2024 Oscars are actually within grasp, but the Academy and telecast partner ABC just cleared a few of the annual hurdles to ensure a live show — setting a producing team, a returning director and a first-time showrunner.
Live TV and go-to Las Vegas residency producer Raj Kapoor, who’s worked on the Academy Awards telecast for the last seven years, has been named showrunner and executive producer for the first time. He assumes the role after collecting a sprawling list of TV credits, including work on the Grammys, the Emmys and quite a few Disney-branded live celebrations.
Joining Kapoor as a first-time Oscar executive producer is Katy Mullan, who comes from live TV production house Mullan Done + Dusted. The British outfit has done everything from producing the Olympics to virtual specials in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they’ll work with returning four-time director Hamish Hamilton. He returns after having not helmed the show since 2010, one of the last few telecasts to top 40 million viewers.
“Raj and Hamish have been incredible Oscars collaborators, and we are delighted to welcome them and Katy to lead the 96th Oscars,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang in their announcement. “Their deep love of cinema, fresh vision and tremendous live television expertise is perfect for our reinvigorated show. We’re excited to work with them and our remarkable creative team — Kenny Gravillis, Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley, David Chamberlin, Lisa Love and Raúl Àvila — to deliver an exceptional show for audiences worldwide.”
As for the rest of those folks, they include creative director Kenny Gravillis, production designers Buckley and Billingsley, red carpet show executive producer Chamberlin and red carpet creative consultants Love and Àvila.
That means the last missing piece in the Oscar puzzle is a host — there’s been a lot of scuttlebutt but no formal movement on a potential emcee for the show after Jimmy Kimmel last held the job earlier this year.
There’s also the not-so-minor matter of talent. As of Oct. 17, SAG-AFTRA and the studios that make up the AMPTP are not actively in discussions to end the talent strike that’s left Hollywood at an almost complete standstill. The lack of participating actors — and, at the time, writers — already prompted a four-month delay for the Emmy Awards.
The 96th Oscars will air live on ABC, Sunday, March 10, 2024, from the Dolby Theatre.
