Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner will produce the 95th Oscar telecast, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Saturday.
The announcement was made at the beginning of a meeting open to all members of the Academy, the first time in eight years that AMPAS has held a forum of this type. The hiring of Weiss and Kirshner means that the next Oscar ceremony, which will take place on March 12, 2023, will be the first with a production team whose experience does not include a substantial amount of film work.
Weiss, who will also direct the Oscars for the eighth consecutive year, is a director and producer known for his work on live broadcasts such as the Oscars, the Tonys and the Kennedy Center Honors. Kirshner has won nine Emmy Awards for his live broadcasts, including the Tony Awards, the Emmy Awards, the last eight Democratic conventions, and 14 Super Bowl halftime shows.
In the past, Oscar production teams have often included at least one producer with extensive film work, including, in recent years, Will Packer, Steven Soderbergh, Lynette Howell Taylor, Donna Gigliotti, Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd. But with Oscar ratings steadily falling, Academy CEO Bill Kramer has stressed the importance of having producers with live television experience.
Kramer has also said he wants to hire producers on a long-term basis rather than for a single show, though Weiss and Kirshner, partners in White Cherry Entertainment, are currently committed to just producing the 2023 show.
The Academy and ABC also announced a creative team that will include veterans of “Monday Night Football,” the Met Gala and the Ariana Grande and Coldplay concert tours. They include red carpet executive producer David Chamberlain, red carpet creative consultants Lisa Love and Raul Avila, creative director Kenny Gravillis, and production designers Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley, the first female-led design team in the Oscar.
The 95th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC on March 12, 2023.