Disney Hosts 'Toast to Television' Emmy FYC Gala
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- Disney hosted its 'Toast to Television' Emmy FYC gala Monday night at Soho House Hollywood, drawing stars, creators, writers, executives, producers and directors from across the company for a rare moment of industry celebration.
- Dana Walden, newly named Walt Disney Co. president and chief creative officer, delivered opening remarks in which she thanked longtime and new creative partners and praised the year's storytelling as work that 'break[s] through an incredible amount of clutter.'
- Shows from ABC, Disney+, Hulu, 20th TV and other Disney entities were repped at the event, including 'Abbott Elementary,' 'The Bear,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Simpsons,' 'Welcome to Wrexham,' 'Wonder Man' and more than 25 other titles.
- Seth MacFarlane, the 'Family Guy' creator, teased the 'Toast to TV' event title — prompting Walden to defend the name and welcome the crowd before moving on.
- Disney used the event to showcase its evolving leadership bench, with Walden naming new CEO Josh D'Amaro, Alan Bergman, FX boss John Landgraf and Debra O'Connell, the new head of Disney Entertainment Television.
- Walden kept her remarks intentionally short, telling the room she wanted them to 'spend time talking to each other' rather than listen to a long speech.
Why it matters: Disney's FYC gala put Walden front and center as the company's new creative face alongside incoming CEO D'Amaro, while showcasing the cross-network portfolio — ABC, Disney+, Hulu, 20th TV — as a single Emmy-voter pitch that the conglomerate's scale still produces distinct, award-worthy work.
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