How Shaun Evans turned ‘Hot Ones’ into one of the most important interview shows in entertainment

There was a time when appearing on Hot Ones felt like a novelty. Now, it’s practically a rite of passage.

Over the past decade, Sean Evans and the team behind YouTube’s popular interview series have transformed the simple idea of ​​celebrities answering increasingly personal questions while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings into one of the most influential talk show formats in entertainment. Long before Hollywood fully embraced creator-driven programming, Hot Ones proved that YouTube series could attract top-notch guests and reach audiences the same size as many traditional TV shows.

Along the way, Hot Ones has become a must-stop destination on modern press tours, and the show’s influence is now so far-reaching that YouTube is once again submitting it for Emmy consideration. Now, in addition to being the face of Hot Ones, Evans is also part of the ownership group that acquired First We Feast from BuzzFeed in 2024, giving the team control of one of YouTube’s most successful franchises.

But behind the viral clips and Ghost Pepper meltdowns, there’s something more permanent. It’s a creator-built show that has survived shifting platforms, changing viewer habits, and an increasingly crowded interview landscape.

Mashable spoke with Evans about how Hot Ones evolved from a crude internet experiment to a mainstream entertainment offering, why consistency is more important than virality, what creators can learn from the show’s longevity, and how much behind-the-scenes chaos it takes to ensure new episodes arrive every Thursday.

Credit: Zooey Liao / Mashable / First We Feast

There was a time when a big movie star appearing on a YouTube show felt like a novelty. Creator-driven interview shows are now everywhere, and Hot Ones feels like a staple in the entertainment ecosystem. Was there a particular moment when you realized that the relationship between Hollywood and internet programming had fundamentally changed?

Sean Evans: When I started, there were very few interview shows on the internet, very few celebrity interviews on the internet. There are a lot of them now. Even podcasts back then weren’t as guest-centric as they are now. There are now many different types of celebrity talk shows and chat formats. It was incredible.

There used to be a time when people would do late-night couch shows, but then it became this big event to do this Internet show, “Hot Ones.” Right now, the whole ecosystem is basically internet shows like Hot Ones. That was kind of surprising. Regarding paradigm-shifting moments, we look back on various notable episodes. The first big episode was Key & Peele. It was a big moment because Kevin Hart was a big star relatively early in the show’s development. Once we booked him, he dropped some other apples off the tree that we probably couldn’t get.

The Charlize Theron episode was important. Because she was an A-list actress who ended up eating the wings of death. This opens up a whole new category of potential guests. Along the way, we encountered these various key moments that reshaped the trajectory of the show. But overall, it’s like a snowball rolling down a hill, getting bigger and bigger. Or maybe the waves are getting big and you’re grabbing your surfboard and trying to hold on.

I know you said last year that Hot Ones should be compared to a traditional talk show, and I completely agree. Do you think the industry has caught up to that idea, or do you think creator-driven shows are still fighting for legitimacy?

I can understand it either way. As it turns out, the movement I’m a part of isn’t really about Hot Ones. That said, today’s kids who aspire to broadcasting probably wouldn’t dream of hosting the Tonight Show. Their dream is probably something akin to Kai Cenat or IShowSpeed, or building their own YouTube channel, or ranking high on the podcast charts. The longer these shows deny that reality, the more absurd and arbitrary it becomes.

My goal was always to make a good episode for the fans. Given the cultural penetration, guest talent, and viewership (eyeball-to-eyeball) of shows like Hot Ones, we certainly deserve to compare and compete with these shows that have traditionally dominated these categories. But it’s hard for me to get angry about something. My life has been so fascinating that I was able to get this amazing job. I’m not going to cry because I didn’t get the statue. Everything turned out better than I ever dreamed for myself.

If I die on a hill, this is it. If you look at the people who started out as creators and are now directors, turning multi-million dollar budgets into hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, the future will be a new format born on the internet. The next wave of great writers will start on the internet. These arbitrary lines in the sand will eventually be blown away because they will deny the audience what they are actually seeing.

The great thing about Hot Ones is that they’ve spent over a decade building an audience that keeps coming back every week. What is the difference between creating a viral hit and creating something sustainable?

I think the format is very Internet-like. But if you think about how I’ve been inspired, it’s mainly from the classics. I grew up obsessed with Letterman, Conan, Howard Stern, and Jimmy Kimmel. My creative partner Chris Schoenberger remembers the UK’s Channel 4, the sassy celebrity chat show with Alexa Chung.

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Even though celebrities are eating scorching hot chicken wings, we’ve combined those influences into something that feels Internet-native. I think it’s a combination of novelty and familiarity. We also straddle this unique position of having one foot in the mainstream and one foot in the underground of the internet.

And I think the watch experience is consistently good. Of course, there are failures, but there are more classics than failures. Hot Ones are like diner burgers. I have to eat that burger once a week, and I’ll come back the next week and the week after. We don’t tinker with recipes every time burger sales drop. We don’t reinvent our menu just because a food trend appears. Our approach is pretty classic, and I think that’s what has kept us going for so long.

So, is consistency the secret sauce?

Yeah. People like the taste of hamburgers, so the same people make them the same way over and over again. We’re not trying to outdo ourselves.

Everyone knows the gimmick: wings and hot sauce. But there’s a reason people keep coming back. What do viewers underestimate about what it takes to make a great Hot Ones episode?

Hot Ones are like swimming ducks. On the water, it is graceful and frictionless. My feet feel weird under it. I basically live a lifestyle where I go to the airport with my baggage, check into a hotel, shoot, go back to the airport, and shoot again in another city. Sometimes you have a successful season and then a guest cancels 36 hours before you’re scheduled to shoot. Now I have to find another reservation. Otherwise, Thursday’s episode will be gone. Earlier this year, I literally flew to Italy to shoot with someone, got there, found out I had to cancel, and flew back home. There are no episodes. I flew to Italy for no reason.

The audience shouldn’t feel that kind of anxiety. We want to make escapist television. Enjoy 24 stress-free minutes. But it takes a lot of stress to create a stress-free experience.

Were you able to enjoy Italy even a little?

I had a delicious pasta dinner. I was like, “At least that’s what I’m going to do while I’m here.” Otherwise it was a sad journey.

You mentioned that Hot Ones can be filmed basically anywhere. What is the most unconventional location you have ever set for Hot Ones?

The Charlize Theron episode stands out. She was on a junket at the Beverly Hills Hotel, so we rented a suite, removed the bed, and hung black curtains from the ceiling. When I went inside, I saw sandbags and lights all over the floor, and sheets hanging from the ceiling. It looked like the work of a second-year student. And I’m thinking, ‘Here I’m about to shoot with an Oscar winner.’

But that’s the Hot Ones experience. You pop it up, spread your wings, do the best you can with your time, deal with the mess, and then pack it all up and start again. It’s basically a circus roadshow.

Is it fair to say that part of the show’s success comes from your willingness to go wherever your guests go?

When I can, absolutely. We are halfway through the season and are already trying to arrange dates for next season. We always try to match guest availability and release schedules to make sure everything matches up. It’s like a Rubik’s cube that we solve all the time. I think that’s part of the reason why we’ve punched above our weight class in guest numbers over the years. We want it to be the most comfortable or most uncomfortable interview show possible. We’ll do what we have to do to get the episodes. I’ll hunt you down wherever you are. If the right opportunity presents itself, I would definitely hop on a plane. I fly from LA to New York probably 50 times a year.

Do you have a favorite memorable moment? Not necessarily the biggest or most talked about moments, but the moments that mean the most to you.

There are hundreds. I love the show. It’s my baby. For those new to Hot Ones, I always recommend Conan O’Brien, Gordon Ramsay, and Paul Rudd. They have a kind of high place in the show’s legend. I love the Viola Davis episode. I love the Trick Daddy episode. Charlize Theron was important to our evolution.

This year we submitted the Kate McKinnon episode for award consideration, which meant a lot to me too. There are too many to count.

I would like to ask you about BTS. I’m a fan, so I know they’re very involved with a lot of the staff. What did it take behind the scenes to make that episode a success?

When security is in place beforehand, you always know you’re filming with a big-name guest. I had never done an episode this big before. There are seven guests at the table, but only one speaks English. There were many potential complications. But it went surprisingly smoothly. I remember walking into the dressing room and they were so warm and looking forward to seeing me. they had a great atmosphere.

Even if there is a language barrier, a common understanding emerges when we eat hot chicken wings together. Jimin was like, “Come to the wings, let’s go to the wings!” Then I do it too. Through experience you become brothers. We spent a tremendous amount of time thinking through every possible complication, but in the end it was one of the smoothest shoots we’ve ever had.

Fans loved the episode.

By the way, they are great fans. That’s another rewarding thing about doing something like that. It’s about capturing the moment when the group reappears and returns. They didn’t press much, so I’m very grateful that they and their team thought the Hot Ones was something the fans would like.

What have you learned to help people feel comfortable showing something authentic on camera?

I’ve always been someone who could sit at any lunch table in the cafeteria. I like listening to stories. I’m more interested in other people’s stories than my own. I think being a Midwesterner helps. There is an instinct to “let’s make everyone comfortable without stirring up trouble.” We strive to reflect respect for our guests on our shows. We conduct thoughtful interviews that span your entire career. It helps build trust. And eat the scorching hot chicken wings. Your brain is flashing survival, survival, survival. They’re not thinking about the PR talking points. All of which accelerates chemistry and trust.

Additionally, people are putting very long leashes on hot ones. It’s okay to cough, curse, or blow your nose into a napkin. Where else could you do that? This permission structure makes people more willing to let go.

Fans are very interested in his friendship with Kiki Palmer. She’s also a great host and interviewer. She has appeared on Hot Ones and has also appeared on podcasts. What do you value about her as an interviewer?

One thing we have in common is that we both feel like we’ve come back from another era. I talked about my influences earlier, and I think she’s exactly the same. When you see us together, you can feel the energy of a late-night show. But it’s brought into a new era in a way that younger viewers seem to understand and really enjoy.