These days, everyone from David Beckham to Ariana Grande has braved tears, heartburn, and sweat to promote their projects online, eating unbearably spicy chicken wings on the internet’s favorite talk show.
Hot Ones, hosted by Sean Evans, has become the celebrity interview choice of choice, with actors and musicians interested not only in the host’s insightful, well-researched questions, but also in the challenge of tackling sauces every time. spicier.
Published by the YouTube channel First We Feast, which has more than 14.2 million subscribers, the series was recently sold by Buzzfeed in an $82.5 million deal.
The show’s format has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2015 and has attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Jennifer Lawrence.
Its charm lies in the quirky format, which invites celebrities to answer questions while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings.
Reactions have ranged from guests fleeing after a single wing (DJ Khaled), fighting back tears (Shaquille O’Neal) or bravely finishing their plate with barely a wink (Halle Berry).
The show got off to a strong start nine years ago, already racking up guests like Coolio and Machine Gun Kelly and Ja Rule early on, but it’s now become part of the quintessential press checklist, attracting stars looking to promote movies very successful. like Wicked and Gladiator II.
The show began in 2015, in Complex Magazine’s food section, First We Feast.
Hot Ones, hosted by Sean Evans (pictured), has become the celebrity interview choice of choice, with actors and musicians interested not only in the host’s insightful and well-researched questions, but also in the challenge of tackling increasingly spicy sauces.
Its charm lies in the quirky format, which invites celebrities to answer questions while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings. In the photo, Pedro Pascal.
The show began in 2015, in Complex Magazine’s food section, First We Feast. Jennifer Lawrence pictured at the show
Talking about the TODAY’S Program Last year, Sean, 38, who had been a copywriter for the Chicago tourism board before getting into interviewing, said the idea for Hot Ones came from a meeting with general manager Chris Schonberger.
“We had an idea for a celebrity talk show, but we wanted to shake it up,” he explained.
‘Celebrity talk shows are a bit boring, or so we thought, everyone’s in a PR-driven breakout pattern…
‘You recognize that you’re in this formal environment, you do everything you can to protect the image… and we wanted to disrupt that, and we thought, how can we do that?
“And then Chris said, ‘What if we had eaten hotter and spicier chicken wings over the course of the interview as a way to break them down, and it was just a Cupid’s arrow straight to my brain?'”
He explained that it is a way to make everyone feel identified with the environment, especially since the host also eats the chicken wings along with the guest.
“We all know what it’s like to die eating hot sauce,” he added, noting that the format means everyone “goes down to the same level.”
Sean admitted that he had never been a “fan” of hot sauces and simply had to get used to training his body for it, “like cardio.”
Sean admitted that he had never been a “fan” of hot sauces and simply had to get used to training his body for it, “like cardio.” Sean photographed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Sean shared the news on his Instagram Story, writing, “Now that the sauce is out of the bottle… Incredibly grateful and inspired by our fans who have supported us for almost a decade and made this all possible.”
However, despite his growing success, the interviewer admitted that it was an “uphill battle” to gain respect in the industry.
talking to vanity fair in 2022, said: ‘There’s a scene in Private Parts, the Howard Stern movie, that starts and he’s at the MTV Awards and he’s appearing as Fart Man. He’s in pants with no ass and he farts and blows up the podium and The crowd goes crazy.
‘The public loves it. And then he goes backstage and everyone in the industry, all these musicians and actors, look at him like he’s a freak. Honestly, that’s what it felt like to make Hot Ones in the early days.
“I knew the show could irritate audiences, but in the industry we were still seen as a freak show. It was just about getting over that.”
But it’s clear that the hard work was worth it, as celebrities are now raving about being fans of Sean and wanting to go on the show to impress their kids.
Elsewhere, stars have been impressed by the research carried out by the team, often claiming that the show has given rise to “the most important questions they have ever been asked”.
Sean said vanity fair that the strict culture of investigation is the key to the success of Hot Ones, throughout its 25 seasons and 354 episodes.
“I saw an opportunity because most talk shows don’t do this level of research,” he said.
Sean told Vanity Fair that the strict culture of investigation is the key to Hot Ones’ success, across its 25 seasons and 354 episodes.
‘They confuse their proximity to the celebrity with the real celebrity and don’t do the real work. It almost sounds sad to say, but by taking it seriously and working very, very hard, we have set ourselves apart from the rest.”
Talking to him New York TimesBoth Sean and Chris seem to think the shift toward talk show status began in 2018, when the season began with Charlize Theron as a guest. This prompted more female celebrities to appear, including Scarlett Johansson, which helped Hot Ones evolve from its ‘sibling-centric box’.
The simplicity of the series has also contributed to its popularity: the setup is simple, with a table, two chairs, and a row of hot sauces.
Sean told the outlet that while the stripped-down atmosphere was a “byproduct of their bankruptcy,” it has also helped them conduct interviews anywhere from New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii or across the pond in London. “We can install that setup anywhere.”
“We continue to focus on making everything as good as possible and having faith that once it’s out in the world, it will belong on the Internet, and they will find ways to have fun with it and amplify it.” -Chris added.
The series has more than “amped up,” racking up wins at the Steamy Awards and even Emmy nominations.
In 2021, Hollywood Insider He called it “The hottest celebrity interview of the moment.”
The publication wrote, “Watching Evans talk to guests like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Jonas Brothers and Gordon Ramsey feels more like a catch-up between friends by removing a layer of formality by having them all eat messy food together.”
“Food, in general, is how many people get to know others and this interview format proves that it is an effective method of doing so (even if guests suffer a little in the process).”
The show has a million followers on Instagram and has firmly cemented its legacy as a pop culture staple, from the emergence of countless memes of celebrities choking on milk to parodies of The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live.
In 2021, Buzzfeed acquired Complex Media in 2021, as reported NBC. In February, it was sold to NTWRK for $108.6 million, but Buzzfeed decided to keep First We Feast.
According to the outlet, Buzzfeed today sold First We Feast to a group of investors, including Chris and Sean, as well as podcast company Crooked Media, YouTubers Rhett and Link’s Mythical Entertainment, and Soros Fund Management.
“The sale of First We Feast and the continued reduction of our convertible debt marks an important step in BuzzFeed, Inc.’s strategic transformation into a media company positioned to fully benefit from the ongoing AI revolution,” said the founder and BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti in a press release.
“In the coming years, we will continue to invest in our most scalable and technological services, launching new interactive experiences powered by AI and serving our loyal audience and business partners.”
Sean shared the news on his instagram Story, written: ‘Now that the sauce is out of the bottle… Incredibly grateful and inspired by our fans who have supported us for almost a decade and made this all possible.
‘Can’t wait for what’s to come, the future is spicy!’