The 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.^[2][3] The awards were presented across three ceremonies on September 11 and 12, 2021, at the Event Deck at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles, California, preceding the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on September 19. A total of 99 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 92 categories. The ceremonies were produced by Bob Bain, directed by Rich Preuss, and broadcast in the United States by FXX on September 18.

The Queen's Gambit won nine awards, leading all programs; The Mandalorian and Saturday Night Live followed with seven wins each. The Mandalorian also received the most nominations with 19, followed by WandaVision with 15 and Saturday Night Live with 14. Program awards went to Boys State, Carpool Karaoke: The Series, Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square, For All Mankind: Time Capsule, Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, Love, Death & Robots, Queer Eye, RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, Secrets of the Whales, Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, and 76 Days. Netflix led all networks with 34 wins and 104 nominations.

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).^{[3][4][lower-alpha 1]} Sections are based upon the categories listed in the 2020–2021 Emmy rules and procedures.^[2] Area awards and juried awards are denoted next to the category names as applicable.^{[lower-alpha 2]} For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards have been omitted.

The following categories were presented at each ceremony:^[7]

The nominations for the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were announced on July 13, 2021, by Ron and Jasmine Cephas Jones via a virtual event.^[11][12] On July 21, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, also known as the Television Academy, revealed that the Creative Arts Emmys would be presented in two ceremonies on Saturday, September 11, and Sunday, September 12; the previous year's ceremonies had been spread out over five days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two ceremonies were scheduled to be held at the Microsoft Theater.^[13] On July 30, the event was split into three ceremonies scheduled for Saturday evening, Sunday afternoon, and Sunday evening.^[14] The combined ceremonies aired in an edited two-hour broadcast on September 18 on FXX.^[14][15]

On August 10, the ceremonies were moved to the indoor-outdoor Event Deck at L.A. Live due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. Additionally, the Television Academy announced that nominated teams would be limited to four tickets per nomination.^[16] Despite the changes, producer Bob Bain sought to create an event that closely resembled pre-pandemic ceremonies "in terms of energy" while still making changes as needed. Unlike previous ceremonies, audiences were seated at tables, similar to the Golden Globe Awards or Critics' Choice Awards, while the shift from the traditional two ceremonies to three allowed the event to have better pacing, according to Bain. The event did not have a host; instead, each ceremony used a "show opener" to kick off the event, then relied on presenters to keep the ceremony moving.^[17] To minimize COVID-19 risks, winners received their trophies on a separate stage from the presenters, and microphones were wiped down between speeches.^[18] Attendees were also required to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test before the event.^[17]