73rd Primetime Emmy Awards

The Governors Award was presented to Debbie Allen "in recognition of her numerous contributions to the television medium through multiple creative forms and her philanthropic endeavors around the world".[35][36]

For the purposes of the lists below, "major" constitutes the categories listed above (program, acting, directing, and writing), while "total" includes the categories presented at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous ceremony had been held as a virtual event with no in-person festivities. Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony from Staples Center with no audience, while all nominees appeared remotely via video link.[79][80] Initially, the Television Academy planned to return to a modified in-person ceremony at the Microsoft Theater. However, due to concerns over SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant and increasing infections in California, it was announced on August 10 that the Primetime Emmy Awards and Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards would be relocated to another L.A. Live venue, the indoor-outdoor Event Deck, and have a further reduction in attendance.[81] The Event Deck had been used before as the site for the ceremony's Governors Ball afterparty,[82] which was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.[83] Attendees were asked to wear masks when not on camera and during commercial breaks.[78]

When announcing the move to the Event Deck, the Television Academy explained that the change would allow the ceremony to "utilize an indoor/outdoor setting and more socially-distanced audience seating".[84] However, presenter Seth Rogen criticized the tent-based setup during the ceremony, remarking, "What are we doing? They said this was outdoors. It is not. They lied to us".[85] The comments, which were delivered off-script and partially tongue-in-cheek, led to criticism of the event on social media and reportedly frustrated producers Stewart and Hudlin. Cedric and Watts explained later in the ceremony the procedures that had been put in place to ensure a safe event.[86][87] The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also clarified that the ceremony was fully compliant with COVID-19 regulations for film, television, and music productions, which included proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the event.[88]

In December 2020, the Television Academy announced several rule changes for the 2021 ceremony, including merging the Outstanding Variety Talk Series and Outstanding Variety Sketch Series categories after previously splitting them in 2015.[89] However, this decision was reversed in February 2021.[90] Another rule change clarified that anthology series would compete in the limited series categories, which were renamed accordingly.[89] In June, it was announced that acting nominees and winners could request that the gender-neutral term "performer" be used instead of "actor" or "actress" on their certificates and statuettes.[91]

After trimming the number of categories at the main ceremony from 27 in 2019 to 23 in 2020, the Television Academy announced in July that the awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) would be moved to the main ceremony.[92] In August, the awards for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Variety Special (Live) were also added to the main ceremony.[93][94] Other categories that had been presented at the main ceremony in previous years, such as Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, were kept at the Creative Arts ceremony.[92]

The broadcast generally received mixed to negative reviews.[95][96] Mike Hale of The New York Times remarked that the ceremony had "a certain level of spirit in the room — you got the feeling people were having a good time... But it was an insular jollity, one that didn't really come through the screen". He also criticized the scripted portions and noted that the best parts were "more off the cuff".[97] IndieWire's Ben Travers noted that the awards were "a traditional telecast" befitting CBS's light, safe programming and found that it lacked a "special sauce ... to distinguish it for anything good". He praised the stars of the evening but found the comedy and presentation poor, and he found the lack of diversity among the winners disappointing.[98] Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin found that most of the jokes "didn't just fall flat — they cratered",[99] while Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone called it "one long coffin flop" that "decided to remind everyone what sucked about [award ceremonies]".[100]

Some critics reviewed the broadcast more positively. Sonia Saraiya of Vanity Fair remarked that she generally enjoyed the ceremony and called it "a suave, sleek event", though she added that the lack of diversity among winners despite the diverse nominees and attendees "suggested that the Television Academy wants to be something different, but is still figuring out how".[101] Robert Lloyd from the Los Angeles Times found the ceremony "fun, if nerve-racking" given the apparent disregard for COVID-19 protocols, singling out the pacing and energy for praise; he also applauded the diversity of the presenters.[102] Several moments also received praise even from negative reviews, such as Michaela Coel's acceptance speech and Conan O'Brien "injecting a little anarchy into the proceedings" from the audience.[99][100]

The ceremony was viewed by 7.83 million people in the United States, representing a 23% increase over the previous year's ceremony, which was the least-viewed in Emmys history. It also achieved a 1.81 rating among adults ages 18–49, up from the previous year's 1.3 rating. The ratings figures only include those who watched the telecast on CBS, and not those who streamed it on Paramount+.[103] Viewership numbers were the best since the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018,[104] and the ceremony snapped a six-year streak of record-low viewership.[1] Several publications remarked that the improved ratings were likely due to strong NFL broadcasts leading into the program.[105][106]