Hot Ones

Hot Ones is a celebrity interview YouTube show hosted by Sean Evans that premiered in 2015. Created by Evans alongside Christopher Schonberger, the show was developed for the food culture brand First We Feast as a variation on standard promotional talk formats.

The first episode aired on March 12, 2015, featuring rapper Tony Yayo. Each standard episode features the host and a guest consuming ten chicken wings or plant-based substitutes seasoned with progressively spicier hot sauces. Questions progress from general career topics to detailed research inquiries as the heat level escalates. Guests have access to milk and ice cream to counter the capsaicin burn. The final wing traditionally receives an added dose of The Last Dab, a house sauce formulated in 2017 with chili pepper breeder Ed Currie. Participants unable to finish all ten wings enter the show's Hall of Shame.

Production originated under Complex Media, which joined BuzzFeed through an acquisition in 2021. In December 2024, an investor group led by Evans and Schonberger acquired First We Feast from BuzzFeed for $82.5 million. The brand established a commercial hot sauce line in partnership with retail company Heatonist, selling bottles online and in grocery stores. Media spin-offs followed, including Hot Ones: The Game Show, which premiered on the cable channel truTV in early 2020. In June 2026, Netflix ordered Hot Ones: Extra Heat as an on-location spin-off series filmed at company events.

The show received industry recognition, earning a Webby Award in 2018 for Best Web Personality and Host. Evans received Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in 2021 and 2022. Cultural appearances included parody sketches on Saturday Night Live in 2021 and 2024, alongside cameos in television series such as Loot in 2022. Across its history, one episode from season 4 was removed from distribution in 2017 following public allegations against the featured subject. In February 2025, Australian streaming platform 7plus launched a dedicated linear channel programmed with past episodes.