The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderbergh, and was directed by Glenn Weiss.

The telecast received mostly negative reviews, and it garnered 10.4 million viewers, making it the least-watched Oscar broadcast since viewership records began for the 46th ceremony in 1974.

[6][14][15] The nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced on March 15, 2021, by actress Priyanka Chopra and singer Nick Jonas during a live global stream originating from London.

[21] Best Supporting Actress winner Yuh-jung Youn became the first Korean performer and second Asian woman to win an acting Oscar after Miyoshi Umeki, who won the same category for her role in 1957's Sayonara.

[28] However, due to the impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic on both cinema and television, the AMPAS Board of Governors later decided to move the date for the 2021 gala by two months to April 25.

[33] The tagline for the ceremony, "Bring Your Movie Love", was intended to reflect "our global appreciation for the power of film to foster connection, to educate, and to inspire us to tell our own stories.

[38] As a result of concerns stemming from the pandemic, AMPAS announced that the main ceremony would be held for the first time at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles with portions of the festivities taking place at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

[42] In consideration of overseas nominees unable to attend the ceremony, producers set up satellite "hubs" such as at BFI Southbank in London where they could participate in the gala.

[45] He, along with Oscars red carpet pre-show host Ariana DeBose and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, presented trailers for the upcoming films Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), West Side Story, and In the Heights, respectively, during the ceremony.

[50] Actors Colman Domingo and Andrew Rannells hosted Oscars: After Dark, a program airing immediately after the ceremony interviewing winners and nominees.

Contrarily, deaf actress Marlee Matlin served as one of the award presenters, with her long-time partner Jack Jason interpreting her American Sign Language to spoken English.

AMPAS president Rubin and CEO Hudson explained the decision to extend the eligibility period saying, "For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring, and entertaining us during the darkest of times.

Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone's control.

The website's consensus reads: "The 93rd Oscars definitely delivered something different, but after a strong opening moment with Regina King, the changes to this year's ceremony cemented the importance of certain structural traditions -- and how damaging hedging your bets on the Academy's votes can be.

"[68] Television critic Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote, "Sunday's broadcast on ABC was more like a cross between the Golden Globes and the closing-night banquet of a long, exhausting convention."

He also commented, "The trade-off — whether because of the smaller crowd, the social distancing, or the sound quality in the cavernous space — was what felt like a dead room, both acoustically and emotionally.

"[69] Rolling Stone columnist Rob Sheffield noted, "The most flamboyantly unplanned and half-assed Oscar Night in recent history was a grind from beginning to end."

[70] Kelly Lawler of USA Today commented, "While it was certainly challenging to stage the show safely, last month's Grammys proved that it is possible to make something entertaining and engaging amid the pandemic.

"[73] Darren Franlch of Entertainment Weekly gave an average review of the telecast, but singled out the winners and presenters for providing memorable moments throughout the show.

[78] Two months later, the ceremony won for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special (Alana Billingsley, Joe Celli, Jason Howard, and David Rockwell).