Will the ping-pong picture prevail? Will they make Sean Penn a special trophy for Best Walk? Will Conan O’Brien’s ICE jokes get bleeped by Disney?
Who knows! That’s why the Oscars are so much fun—but they’re especially fun this year.
Oscar fever has hit an all-time high. The list of nominees is unusually stacked with glossy Hollywood flash, foreign treasures, and true art house gems. Our friends over at The Ringer have deemed the first few months of 2026 “the craziest awards season in years.” Even Kalshi’s popping off.
If you can’t wait to soak in the glory of Hollywood’s biggest night, here’s how to tune in.
How to Watch
The main event—officially known as The 98th Annual Academy Awards—will be broadcast on Sunday, March 15. The ceremony starts at 7pm Eastern, 4pm Pacific, and midnight in the UK.
Just like last year, the Oscars are going to be streaming live on Hulu. And yes, that’s all tiers of Hulu. You don’t need the Hulu + Live TV option, you can watch the Oscars on regular ol’ Hulu. Huzzah.
Not in the Hulu Hive? You can tune into your local ABC station, either on cable or over the air. You can also watch the show live if you subscribe to one of the comprehensive streaming TV packages that carry ABC content, such as YouTube TV, DirecTV, or Fubo.
If you live outside the US, you can still watch. Dozens of international partners will be carrying ABC’s livestream in their own markets. Consult the official list to find your local station. Just know that these services are geo-blocked outside of their home countries, so if you don’t see your country listed here, you will have to use a VPN to watch a stream from another country.
Other Stuff to Know
There’s a red carpet preshow that starts 30 minutes before the actual ceremony, so if you want to see who went vintage, who went haute couture, and who went to Nordstrom Rack, log on at 6:30 EDT, 3:30 PDT.
O’Brien is the host again this year, a decision we fully support. Conan must be excited, too, because he’s been out there hyping the gig on the media circuit. He was on Michelle Obama’s IMO podcast last week. The week before that, he was on The New Yorker Radio Hour talking to David Remnick about the job.
Also at The New Yorker, the talk show Critics at Large just did a special episode about the history of Oscars hosts, covering the highlights and lowlights of the entertainers who have graced the stage since the ceremony was first broadcast on television in 1953. No joke, the role is one of the toughest in all of Hollywood.
To talk smack in realtime during the ceremony, go to r/Oscars on Reddit or pick a topical feed on Bluesky.
