Ellen DeGeneres to Host 2014 Oscars

After watching other awards shows garner critical praise for selecting hosts like Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Neil Patrick Harris, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences decided to do what it almost always does — it went with a safe pick. On Friday, it was announced that Ellen DeGeneres would host the 86th Academy Awards. It will be her second time hosting the Oscars, previously leading the show in 2006.

While Seth MacFarlane was (kind of?) a controversial host for the 2013 Oscars, he actually had people talking about the broadcast again, something the Academy desperately needed. DeGeneres is a good pick and a funny person, but she's not going to get people chatting about the Oscars. It's almost as if the Academy saw all the buzz the Golden Globes, Tonys and Emmys were getting with their exciting hosting pics, and said, nah, we're not interested in any of that. At least DeGeneres is a more dangerous pick than the last host of Grammys, LL Cool J.

The 86th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2014.