Neil Patrick Harris to Host the Oscars

For the second year running, LGBT viewers can count the host of the Academy Awards as "family."

Taking the torch from selfie-queen Ellen DeGeneres, Variety reports that Hedwig and the Angry Inch star and Gone Girl actor Neil Patrick Harris will host the next Oscars ceremony. The event will air live in 225 countries on February 22, 2015.

Hosting the Oscars is a tough job -- just ask Seth MacFarlane, James Franco and Anne Hathaway, or Jon Stewart. It's a sweet gig, but you've got to maintain the show's energy for the entirety of the broadcast.

Ellen proved that she could work the crowd and keep viewers at home interested last year, but it seems she's reluctant to take a third crack at hosting.

For his part, Harris knows his way around an award show, previously hosting the Emmys and the Tonys. He's certainly got the showmanship to keep us interested, even through the less-than-glitzy categories (sorry, sound mixing).

And who knows? Maybe he'll wear something snazzy, like this number. Or perhaps he'll go the au naturale route. We'll watch him either way.

Harris appears thrilled with the development, possibly because it's the last thing on his bucket list (after having kids and getting hitched, of course).