Oscars postmortem: Showrunner on Conan, the tie and biggest moments
[March 17, 2026]
By LINDSEY BAHR
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The day after the Oscars, executive producer and
showrunner Raj Kapoor is feeling a bit exhausted. After preparing for
Hollywood’s biggest night for months and months, it can feel a little
surreal to realize that it’s over. But he’s also feeling good about what
he and hundreds of others put together, not just for the nominees and
winners but for the millions watching around the world.
“I feel really good,” Kapoor told The Associated Press on Monday. “It is
one of those things where you work so hard on putting something together
and the next day you’re absolutely exhausted and can barely talk. But
it’s still kind of an amazing feeling.”
And no matter how much they planned, the thing that Kapoor, who won an
Emmy for the 96th Oscars two years ago, and fellow producer Katy Mullan
know is that there’s only so much control one has when producing a live
television show. And they are always expecting the unexpected.
How Kumail Nanjiani handled the tie
Perhaps the most surprising part of the night was when Kumail Nanjiani
opened the envelope for best live-action short and announced that there
was a tie. “I’m not joking,” he said from the stage.
Kapoor said that Nanjiani was given a heads up from Oscar accountants
PricewaterhouseCoopers that it was a tie moments before he walked
onstage. No one coached him about what to do. And Nanjiani handled the
unusual situation calmly and deftly, saying he would announce the
winners one at a time, giving both their moment onstage.
“He was kind of like the perfect person to do that at that time,” Kapoor
said. “I was so impressed with just how he handled it, how our team
handled it. It’s a very fast moving show and it’s really complex from
automation to stage cues to our trophy presenters and it is a whole
night of choreography. So anytime something unusual happens I just have
to give full credit to our full production team of just how aware they
are to make those pivots and changes at the last minute.”
Did Conan always know when he was on camera?
Some viewers watching from home wondered whether returning host Conan
O’Brien always knew when he was on camera. There were moments when it
seemed like he had been caught in a private moment, reacting to what was
happening onstage, like during the live-action short speech that was
almost cut short.
Kapoor said he can’t speak to that moment because even he’s not sure
whether the host was caught off guard.
“Conan is the master of improv and he’s the master of reaction. And
sometimes, you know, I, like, I honestly could not tell,” he said. “I
heard the cue go out. But the way that Conan played that bit, it could
have been a Conan bit. He is one of those people that are so talented.
And sometimes you really don’t know what he has planned.”
The ‘Sinners’ moment that didn’t want to end
Those in the audience knew that the “Sinners” performance carried on
after the broadcast cut to commercial. Kapoor said they did always have
a reprise planned for the juke joint recreation.
“There were so many talented musicians in that segment and I think they
were just really living in that moment and wanting to have the party
continue because I think the energy in the room felt electric and I
really think between the audience and the performers onstage, nobody
really wanted it to end,” Kapoor said. “Unfortunately, we had to change
over our stage, otherwise we would have left them there a little
longer.”
Tough choices and cuts
The producers are constantly monitoring the show’s timing, and while
they have a little bit of wiggle room with Disney and ABC, they are
always trying to come in at 3 ½ hours or under.
“It’s our responsibility to keep the train on its tracks,” he said. “But
really more than halfway during the show is when more crucial decisions
have to be made. If we are continually stretching and adding more time,
we have to start reining it in.”
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Kumail Nanjiani presents the award for best live action short film
during the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in
Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
 One of those tough decisions
happened when “Golden” won best original song, and they made the
call to cut the speech at the designated time. It wasn’t a slow fade
either, but a definitive cut microphone and a full volume orchestra.
“All the nominees are given guidelines of how long they have to
speak and ultimately, in a lot of categories where there’s multiple
nominees, we’ve asked for them to designate somebody to speak on
behalf of everybody that’s nominated in that category,” Kapoor said.
“It’s that moment where somebody feels like they’re done and the
music has already been called to play. So at that point, the
orchestra is playing, we are now moving on to the next segment. But
ultimately, at that time in the show, we are now very, very
extremely conscious of time. And want to be fair to all the
nominees, so that ends up being a tough decision to make.”
Yes, they hoped the in memoriam made you cry
One of their proudest, and most delicately planned, moments was the
in memoriam, which included gathering a slew of stars to celebrate
Rob and Michele Reiner, as well as Barbra Streisand for Robert
Redford.
“The in memoriam this year was really, really special for us,” he
said. “It’s one of the most delicate and thought through pieces of
the show, because we know how much it means to people. Between our
filmmakers, between our orchestrations, between the presenters that
actually came on stage. It’s just, yeah, it’s something that we hold
very dear and we want to make sure that resonates with not only
people in the room, but people at home.”
He added: “Ultimately, if it brings a little tear to your eye that’s
kind of us all feeling like we’ve all done a good job to make
something memorable happen.”
The importance of good speeches
One thing producers know they definitely don’t have control over is
the content of speeches. But last night, Kapoor said, “all the
winners really delivered some exceptional speeches,” noting lead
acting winners Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley specifically.
“I think they spoke to so many different people around the world
from ‘Sentimental Value’ to ‘KPop’ to, you know, thanking mothers,”
Kapoor said. “It just shows you that even though we are celebrating
film there’s probably a message for almost everybody around the word
to celebrate and to feel connected and to come together.”
Hundreds of people behind the scenes
Kapoor wanted especially to recognize the over 700 people who worked
on the show behind the scenes, from editors, to caterers, to makeup
artists, to costume designers.
“This particular show really employs so many people in Los Angeles,”
he said. “It’s so great for the city of Los Angeles, it’s so great
for the film community, it’s so great for television. Katy and
myself are honored to work with the academy, with Conan and to be
able to produce a show that still means so much to people around the
world.”
Will Conan return for the 99th Oscars?
Well, we’ll just have to wait and see. As Kapoor said, it’s the day
after the Oscars and “I don’t think Conan is taking anybody’s
calls.”
But he and Mullan loved working with him again.
“We have been so blessed to work with him these past two years, him
and his team, and it’s just a really lovely relationship, and I
could not ask for anything better,” Kapoor said.
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