Vanessa Hudgens to Return as Co-Host of ‘Countdown to the Oscars’

Vanessa Hudgens is set to co-host Countdown to the Oscars, the official lead-in to The 95th Oscars, for the second year in a row. Her co-hosts this year are Ashley Graham and Lilly Singh. Countdown to the Oscars airs on Sunday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on ABC.

The 90-minute special will highlight Oscar nominees, performers and presenters. Content creator Reece Feldman will be a backstage correspondent and Rocsi Diaz will be the correspondent for the Academy’s member viewing party in New York City. The show is executive produced by David Chamberlin and Michael Antinoro, alongside executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner.

Hudgens’ co-hosts last year were Terrence J, Brandon Maxwell and Sofia Carson. Carson is set to perform on this year’s telecast. She and Diane Warren will perform Warren’s nominated song “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman.

Hudgens has had a pair of top 30 albums on the Billboard 200, V and Identified. She also had a pair of top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as a member of the High School Musical and High School Musical 2 casts.

Leading into the official pre-show, ABC News will air On the Red Carpet Live: Countdown to Oscars 95 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. PT. The pre-show coverage will also stream on ABC News Live starting at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT throughout the day until the start of the 95th Academy Awards.

Linsey Davis and Whit Johnson will host the red-carpet special at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, featuring interviews with Oscar nominees. They will be joined by ABC News correspondent Chris Connelly, ESPN’s Andscape senior entertainment reporter and ABC News contributor Kelley Carter and insiders including Variety’s Elizabeth Wagmeister and Clayton Davis and celebrity stylist Joe Zee.

On the Red Carpet Live: Countdown to Oscars 95 is produced by Catherine McKenzie and John Green.

The 95th Oscars will be held Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.