How To Watch The Oscars On Sunday Night - NPR

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Workers prepare the red carpet area on Friday ahead of the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Workers prepare the red carpet area on Friday ahead of the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre.

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, with red carpet programming beginning 90 minutes before showtime at 6:30 p.m. ET.

ABC will televise the Oscars live. Cable subscribers can also stream the ceremony on abc.com or via the ABC app by signing in through a cable provider.

What to watch for

• Will Smith could accept his very first Oscar. He stars in King Richard as the father of Venus and Serena Williams.
• Ari Wegner could become the first woman to win for cinematography, for her work on The Power of the Dog.
• Ariana DeBose, who played Anita in West Side Story, could become the first openly queer woman of color to win for her acting performance. She's nominated for best supporting actress.
• Troy Kotsur could become the first Deaf man to win an acting Oscar. He's nominated for best supporting actor.
• Listen: NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew breaks down what should win, and what will win.

Those without a cable subscription can access the ceremony through subscription services like Hulu + Live TV, Vidgo, YouTubeTV, The Roku Channel, AT&T TV, and FuboTV. (Many offer a free trial.)

The ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will require nominees and guests — though not performers or presenters — to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. All attendees will be required to present negative test results. After three consecutive years without a host, this year's ceremony will have three emcees: Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer.

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While the first Oscars ceremony lasted a very efficient 15 minutes, nowadays the ceremony tends to average around 3 1/2 hours. This year, the academy has made the controversial decision to cut eight categories from the live broadcast — instead taping them before the broadcast and weaving the footage into the actual show. The categories cut include film editing, original score, production design, makeup and hairstyling, animated short, documentary short, live action short and sound mixing. The academy has also added a new award, the fan-favorite award, decided by popular vote held on Twitter.