It’s really the year of women for the Academy Awards.
The Oscars had already announced two dynamic female producers to run the show. They are Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain. They each have loads of experience.
Today Taylor and Allain announced additionally three new female writers to the staff. They are:
Beth Sherman, Amberia Allen, and Agathe Panaretos. They also brought in writer John Hoffman, whose credits include “Grace and Frankie.” (All bios below.)
So we can assume this will not be a show full of sexist or racist jokes. They will be plant based jokes, but the only thing left to joke about is plants.
The show will have no host. Like last year, there will be a series of presenters. That set up seemed to work last year. And since Ricky Gervais struck out as Golden Globes host, that may be best.
And how will the show open? Last year, Queen rocked the house because of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” My guess is that if “Rocketman” gets just one nomination, Sir Elton John be at his piano for a raucous opening. The song “Rocketman” would be too slow an opening, so Elton will probably want to perform “The Bitch is Back” or “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.”
Beth Sherman returns as a writer for the Oscars telecast. She has won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on both “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Talk.” In addition, she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for “Late Show with David Letterman.” Sherman’s writing credits also include “2019 MTV Video Music Awards,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “American Music Awards 2016” and “The Queen Latifah Show.”
Amberia Allen joins the Oscars telecast for the first time as a writer. She has been a writer for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” and has written for numerous live awards shows and variety specials, including “The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor,” “BET Awards” and “Soul Train Awards.” In addition, Allen holds a PhD in Sociology from UCLA and has co-authored the annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report.
John Hoffman returns as a writer for the Oscars telecast. Hoffman earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special for the “81st Annual Academy Awards.” In addition to screenwriting, he is also a director, producer and actor. His film and television credits include “The Emoji Movie,” “Grace and Frankie,” “Looking,” “Igor,” “Good Boy!” and “Northern Lights.”
Agathe Panaretos is a first-time writer for the Oscars telecast. Her television credits include the late-night talk show “Chelsea,” “The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards” and “What Just Happened??!” with Fred Savage. She was previously a writer-at-large for The Onion.