The cast and creatives of HBO Max’s The Pitt at Gold House’s One House Toast at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills on Thursday evening, September 10, 2026.
Duke Winn
Gold House, the cultural collective platform, hosted its annual One House Toast to the Emmys on Thursday evening at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. Ahead of the Primetime Emmy Awards next week, the event celebrated the Asian Pacific nominees, including over 200 Emmy-nominated creatives and cast from Netflix’s BEEF and Bridgerton, HBO Max’s The Pitt, ABC’s Abbott Elementary, and more.
Hosted by Gold House and sponsored by Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, Genesis Motor America, Variety Magazine, Rakuten Viki, and WME, One House Toast to the Emmys had several nominees in attendance, including BEEF creatives Lee Sung Jin and Kitao Sakurai, The Pitt’s Sepideh Moafi and Tal Anderson, The Pitt’s executive producer Simran Baidwan, Creative Emmy winner Sang Kim (Widow’s Bay), and more.
Gold House CEO & co-founder Bing Chen and Variety Artisans editor Jazz Tangcay at Gold House’s One House Toast at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills on Thursday evening, September 10, 2026.
Duke Winn
BEEF, which received 16 nominations, was heavily highlighted throughout the night, with promos surrounding the menu – which happened to be beef. BEEF creator Lee Sung Jin gave a speech that evening, recalling how Gold House was the reason he was able to cast Charles Melton. At a Gold House event, Lee approached Melton to pitch him for the second season. He credits Gold House CEO and co-founder Bing Chen for sitting Lee near Melton.
“I pitched Charles all of season two on my phone, and by the third appetizer, he said yes,” Lee recalls. “That’s just one example of what this organization and this community means to creators and filmmakers like me. Just having people like you come out and support it does make a difference. You never know who you’re going to run into here and what the conversation is going to lead to. I’m very grateful that we get to do this together.”
Sakurai, BEEF executive producer and producing director, has a lot to celebrate. The dark comedy is nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. His film, Street Fighter, is set to release in theaters on October 16. He chuckles over both projects being vastly different, but says his career has always been “very strange.” He explains, “I’ve always gravitated towards things that feel weird and offer a different lens on things. BEEF and Street Fighter are very different, but they [center] on Asian people – and I love that. I grew up between two worlds – born in Japan, raised in America. I consumed a lot of Japanese media, and I never thought I would be able to have such a direct expression of my influences.”
BEEF’s executive producer and producing director Kitao Sakurai at Gold House’s One House Toast at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills on Thursday evening, September 10, 2026.
Andrew Ge
Despite feeling a bit of pressure after the first season’s success, Sakurai wasn’t surprised it did so well this awards season because the show is special and has key, relatable elements. He relays, “The series leans into the uncanny things. The show is looking at this weird mirror that other shows don’t quite do in the same way. For me, as a filmmaker, having done Dave and The Eric Andre Show, there always needs to be a sense of risk and danger – otherwise, it doesn’t grip you in that way. Whether it’s visual danger or narrative danger, it needs to feel dangerous. BEEF has that kind of danger to it.”
The Pitt, which leads in nominations with 25 this year, has one of the most diverse casts on television. Yet, Moafi is the only person of color from the cast to be nominated for her role on the series. The Iranian American actress is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Dr. Al-Hashimi. She is the first of Iranian descent (and Middle Eastern / Southwest Asian) to be nominated in this category. Moafi doesn’t take her nomination lightly. She appreciates the love and support she’s received from her castmates and the MENA and SWANA/API community.
“I’m so grateful that I get to do this work,” Moafi says humbly. “I always think about the way I came into this world. If my family’s reality had bent even slightly in a different direction, it would have been totally different. But the fact that I have this opportunity, I feel profound gratitude.”
As she is congratulated and cheered on throughout the night, she feels so much love from the event. She wishes she could share this honor with everyone in the cast and community. She shares, “I put my whole heart, soul, mind, and everything into what I do. That doesn’t make me exceptional, but that makes me worthy. The other thing can exist too: so many people are worthy, but they don’t have access. I’m always in touch with God, and it keeps my feet on the ground. Yes, this is a moment of celebration for me, but it doesn’t feel good when it’s all about me.”
The Pitt’s Sepideh Moafi at Gold House’s One House Toast at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills on Thursday evening, September 10, 2026.
Andrew Ge
She smiles when she is told “her win is everyone’s win” as she makes history and paves the way for other AAPI and MENA/SWANA to be seen. She replies, “That’s what it feels like. It does feel like it’s not just mine. It does feel like, hopefully, a shift in the culture that people from my part of the world are not just victimized or vilified on screen. We are all storytellers, and we are all connecting. Audiences want [to feel seen]. What are we reflecting? Part of the reason why The Pitt struck a chord culturally is that it reflects our lives and respects our struggles. It reflects the issues in our society, and people want to feel seen.”
One House Toast continues Gold House’s commitment to advancing API representation in entertainment, and highlights creatives and cast in the community. TV Academy Chief of Staff Brandy R. Curry is happy to see organizations that elevate people of color and empower the community.
“What I have noticed is that if you look at the Emmy categories this year, you can see we are part of it,” Curry says. “For the Asian community, the Black community, and for the female community, I think organizations [like Gold House] and others like it are continuing to elevate us in these spaces we should be in. A lot of it is just access – to the right people and material. We show that we can do it when we get there.”
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on Monday at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET on NBC and Peacock.
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