Ariana DeBose served as the host for the second year in a row, with Skylar Astin and Julianne Hough co-hosting a pre-show on Pluto TV prior to the main telecast on CBS.

In January 2023, The Broadway League and American Theatre Wing renewed its contract with Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss's White Cherry Entertainment to produce the ceremony.

[4] Nominees were announced on May 2, 2023; the musical Some Like It Hot was the most-nominated show of the season, while A Doll's House , Ain't No Mo' , and Leopoldstadt were tied for most nominated play.

So to anyone who may have thought that last year was a bit unhinged, to them, I say, ‘Darlings, buckle up.’”—76th Tony Awards host Ariana DeBose during her opening monologue[1]On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

[6] On May 12, the WGA denied the American Theatre Wing's request for a waiver to allow the CBS telecast, thereby placing the ceremony's broadcast in uncertainty.

[9] The same day as the emergency meeting, the WGA still once again denied the waiver but announced they would not picket the event, and the broadcast was set to continue as planned.

Before the show began, host Ariana DeBose revealed to the audience the only words that would appear on the teleprompter that night: "Please wrap up" (the advisory to award winners to close their acceptance speech).

Many reviewers gave praise to the event for its ability to persist and make an entertaining show in spite of the fallout from the WGA strike.

The distinction was not made in any of the Tony Awards' press release, resulting in viewers and news outlets being unaware of that the 2023 version was a premium only service.

[36] The increase was notable in a time when general viewership for live U.S. television events has been declining while the Super Bowl, Oscars and Grammys were streaking in annual ratings rebound since the previous year.