Liza Koshy Talks Co-Hosting With Ryan Seacrest for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve
For the second year in a row, social media sensation and actress Liza Koshy will be co-hosting Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and we cannot wait.
This year's New Year's Eve celebrations are set to be some of the biggest yet, with musical performances by Billy Porter, Ciara, j-hope, Halle Bailey, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Wix Khalifa and so many more—and that's just the beginning of the fun. Tune into ABC on Saturday, Dec. 31, starting at 8 p.m. to catch Liza and Ryan, and keep reading to check out our interview with Liza to discover what she's most excited about on the big night and for 2023 as a whole.
Sienna Leone: You're co-hosting Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve 2023 again with Ryan Seacrest. I've personally been watching the show every year for God knows how long. How did you feel when you were first contacted to co-host?
Liza Koshy: It all started back when I was 1 and started watching the show! Dick Clark handed that beautiful baton over to Ryan Seacrest, who is now handing that mic over to me, which is so wild. It's my second year—and I'm so happy it's my second year. That means he liked the first year and invited me back! I'm not too bad of a plus one, so I'm super stoked to be Ryan's.
(Image courtesy of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve)
And I'm not the new kid on the New York block anymore. I've done it once, but I've heard from Ryan that every year is different. He's been doing this for like like eight years, so he's been at this for a long time, and so to learn from the GOAT—the world's most beloved event planner—y'all don't understand. This man is an event planner. He has such an attention to detail and is curating and creating the energy that wraps out our entire year—no pressure—and it never seems like any pressure at all. It's just pure party and passion emitting from him, so I am still sucking it up. He's so amazing and I'm so stoked to share that world stage with him again.
The first year that I ever interacted with Ryan on the New Year's Rockin' Eve stage was back in 2018/2019. It was raining—it was pouring down—and I swear had even more energy. It was like the rain was a co-host of his that night. I was lucky to be able to do a little bit of digital coverage and pieces on the live stream, covering social media trends of the year. Two years later, Ryan and ABC approached me with the opportunity to co-host the whole event in New York in Times Square with him. I was in insane disbelief. I still am! The fact that I'm back for a second year is just a testament to our banter from last year. We had safety protocols and we were apart, and we still had the virtual banter and energy, and that was just so fun and so challenging. He makes it look so easy, but there's so much work and effort and love that goes into it.
(Image courtesy of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve)
Also read about: Resolutions That Are Actually Worth Making for 2023
SL: Tell us about all the work, effort and love that goes into the preparation for an event like this.
LK: This year, I am genuinely renting an ice pit—an ice tank. Basically one of those metal bins full of ice. I'm gonna sit my body in it and I'm gonna try to read off a prompter for 30 minutes straight, because that's essentially the conditions that you're going to be in Times Square, potentially. We'll check the weather. If not that, I plan on going to a World Cup match in a bar and trying to keep one train of thought the whole time. There are so many elements and sounds and people who are excited to be there that you're taking all this energy and still trying to remain focused on hosting millions of people at home. The fact that Ryan does it with such ease, I take so many pages out of his book—or I just jack the whole book itself and try to do my best, too.
SL: You two make a great duo. I love you guys co-hosting. What else can we expect on Saturday, Dec. 31?
LK: In terms of our Rockin' Eve, I'm so excited about our performer lineup. I mean, of course, you have the incredible Billy Porter, who's going to be in New Orleans, and we're expecting an immaculate performance.
(Image courtesy of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve)
Ciara, too. We've got Disneyland for the very first time, and I'm so excited to see Tomorrow x Together. We've Halle Bailey. We've got so many incredible performers this year.
(Image courtesy of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve)
Personally, I am excited to actually set resolutions this year. I did not set any last year, and I really impressed myself because I set out to do nothing and I actually did something, so I'm proud of that. I'm so excited for 2023 and all that has to offer, but we're gonna go out with me for sure.
Also read about: Don't Have a Resolution Yet? This List of 23 Ideas Has You Covered
SL: Have you always been a New Year's person?
LK: Absolutely! I feel like I'm a very drunken personality naturally, and I need nothing to drink on our live show at all. to have a good time. That's just the energy. I feel like I'm champagne in a human.
SL: Your energy is unmatched! That's what makes you so perfect for this. Do you have any resolutions for 2023?
LK: I would love to learn how to change a tire because it would be really useful, because I drive like a maniac, and flats happen way too often. I definitely want to call people instead of texting them. I'm gonna bother them even more. And I also would love to take on a dramatic role. I'm really excited for this year. I have five movies coming out that I'm stoked about, but they're all more comedy, and I'm really wanting to get into drama.
(Image courtesy of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve)
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