How to Watch the 2021 Oscars Without Selling Your Soul to Another Subscription Service

It’s that time of year again, y’all: The 93rd annual Academy Awards are here, and history is being made…thank god! The Oscars have been called out for their glaring lack of diversity in race and gender in the past—um, remember that extremely necessary and viral hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite?—but this year’s list of nominees is far more inclusive than in previous years (and that’s not a hard bar to beat, sadly). We truly love to see it.

For the first time ever, this year’s Academy Awards ceremony has two women recognized in the Best Director category, with Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) securing nominations. And men are making Oscars history too—Steven Yeun (Minari) and Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) are the first two men of Asian descent to be nominated for Best Actor. So yeah, it’s a BFD.

Here’s everything you need to know about Hollywood’s biggest awards ceremony and how to watch it from the comfort of your bedroom (where, if we’re being honest, we’ll be anyway).

When is it?

After being pushed back due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—which, BTW, is totally still a thing—the Oscars landed on a new date: Sunday, April 25, starting at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC. Mark! Your! Calendars!

More interested in the ~fancy~ red carpet stuff? Fans of the awards ceremony can look forward to the arrivals starting at around 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET, although this year is predicted to be a little lot different for safety reasons.

Will there be a virtual ceremony, or?

Surprisingly…no! The Academy #confirmed that the ceremony will be taking place live and in person from multiple venues this year. The Academy released a statement on the matter, which read:

It’s also important to note that Zoom call-ins from the nominees are not allowed during this ceremony, meaning no funny/awkward tech issues. 😭 The show’s producers sent out an email to the nominees and said:

So…how can I watch the Oscars?

If you have cable, you’re in luck because the Oscars will air on ABC. If you don’t believe in “paying for cable,” you can catch the show on a live television subscription service like Hulu Live or YouTube TV. Don’t have either? Try Locast.org—all you gotta do is put in your zip code and create a *free* account so the site can scan local channels in your area. As long as ABC is one of those channels, you’re all set to watch the Oscars online for free.

Who’s nominated?

As mentioned, this year’s Oscars will be one of the more inclusive nights in awards show history. It’s a positive outlook for the industry, which has been rightfully criticized for pandering only to straight, white actors in the past.

Peep the nominations for the six biggest awards, below:

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

• Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy

• Olivia Colman, The Father

• Amanda Seyfried, Mank

• Youn Yuh-jung, Minari

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7

• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah

• Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami

• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

• LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Actor in a Lead Role

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

• Anthony Hopkins, The Father

• Gary Oldman, Mank

• Steven Yeun, Minari

Actress in a Lead Role

• Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

• Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday

• Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman

• Frances McDormand, Nomadland

• Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Picture

• The Father

• Judas and the Black Messiah

• Mank

• Minari

• Nomadland

• Promising Young Woman

• Sound of Metal

• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Director

• Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round

• David Fincher, Mank

• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

• Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

• Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

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