10 of Hot Ones’ best and spiciest interviews

Over the years, long-form interviews with celebrities on camera were in an unsustainable state. Except for podcasts and radio, people no longer have the interest to engage in deep conversations about the entertainment business. Many of the celebrities that once made the interviews digestible are now either deceased or retired. A YouTube series called „The Show” was born. These are the Hot Ones, [cut to two-shot]Hot questions, hot wings and a hot show. These are the Hot OnesThis format has been rehabilitated by solving two key problems. First, it distracts guests from their minds by providing them with an interesting challenge. Second, the challenge removes any showbiz brilliance.

You don’t know what it is? These are the Hot OnesIt’s simple. It’s a one-on-one interview show where host Sean Evans asks guests remarkably compelling questions while both host and guest attempt to eat 10 increasingly spicy chicken wings. Scoville units are used to measure the spice of each wing. The first wing weighs in at 1800 Scovilles, while the last wing weighs in at 2.5. Million. For comparison, that final wing is roughly 500 times hotter than a jalapeño.

Many of the questions are thoughtful and often provoke an audible shock from guests at Evans’ preparations for interview. These moments alone would be enough to make the show endlessly watchable, but it’s the wings that add an element of unpredictability, requiring you to come back for more. Some guests are sobbing while they try to eat the entire 10 others have panic attacks, another guest peed his pants and only a handful show signs of stress. A guest could always be answering a question deceptively to make themselves look better, but there’s no hiding from the truth hidden in the wings. Here’s a selection of some of the best These are the Hot Ones episodes that demonstrate why it’s the best celebrity interview show in ages.

Eddie Huang

Season 2, Episode 10

The spice levels of the first seven wings are fairly manageable, giving Evans plenty of time to ask his guest some engaging questions before the interview implodes with the reliably explosive eighth wing, covered in the show’s most infamous sauce: Da’ Bomb. When chef Eddie Huang came on and began to eat the wings in reverse order, prompting Evans to tell him “you just did a crazy thing that I think you are going to regret.” He did. Huang was in pain for the rest of the hour, and he asked Evans if his life was at risk. The show eventually resumed. Although Huang couldn’t eat all of his wings, Evans gave him one of the most memorable interviews. He asked Huang about the transformational effects of receiving zero star restaurant reviews and how it affected his beef cooking. Huang returned 2 years later to tackle the wings as instructed, but in slightly lesser discomfort.

This is the best question “What do you think is the biggest problem in food media in 2016?” In reliably filterless fashion, Huang pointed to celebrity chefs as being overhyped clowns and said if someone has to tell you why something tastes good, then it probably doesn’t. Huang has been embedded in the food media industry, but he is not a member of the main television chefs club. This gives him an excellent vantage point to view the issues that he feels are plaguing the sector.

Shaquille O’Neal

Episode 8 of Season 8.

Academy Award Winner, Doctoral Degree Holder, Olympic Gold Medalist Shaquille O’Neal His career was further enriched by his achievement of being the tallest. These are the Hot Ones2019 guest of the year. The basketball legend and platinum-selling recording artist talked a big game by guaranteeing the wings would not get him to “make a face.” He did, a few times, but the most entertaining aspect of the episode was the conversation itself. O’Neal humorously recounted the highs and lows of his basketball career by elaborating on differences in opinion with former teammate Kobe Bryant, recalled an important life lesson involving blowing a million dollars from his first NBA contract in under 45 minutes, and talked about shattering backboards as early as high school. O’Neal was able to get through all 10 wings but, perhaps feeling out-sauced, aggressively persuaded Evans to eat a single wing smothered in the contents of every bottle on the table and dubbed it “Shaq Sauce.”

This is the best question “Fact or fiction: You used to have police lights on your truck and you once pulled over Darius Miles on the freeway and made him late for Clippers practice?” Shaq laughingly opted to not answer this one, which could be seen as an answer in itself.

Natalie Portman

Season 6 episode 2

The ethics behind a talk program that focuses on consuming birds to amuse viewers is a topic for discussion. Natalie PortmanTo promote her documentary, she took the (vegan-like) wings of death The eating of animalsIt is exactly what you believe it to be. Evans was not afraid to discuss the subject, while Portman talked in depth about factory farming’s environmental impacts and how we can make a difference by eating less meat. Portman then moved on to more important questions like whether eating a taco at the top is psychopathic and which stoner film was his favorite. Portman, in terms of wing composure, is unflappable and one of the greatest guests this show has seen. After the challenge, her eyes well up with tears. Although she acknowledges some discomfort, there’s not much to notice in her demeanor.

This is the best question “How, at all, does the international press differ from the American press?” Portman, one of the very few people who could be considered a world-renowned person of interest for multiple decades of global blockbusters, said the biggest differences she sees are that the European press want to know where movie stars stand on political issues and the Japanese press just wants to goof around.

Gordon Ramsay

Episode 1 of Season 8

Famously, the TV show that made society’s fringe cry about undercooked beef Wellington is most well-known. Gordon RamsayWas These are the Hot Ones’ most requested guest for years. This Michelin Star Chef was the right person to be in the hot chair and get a reconciliation return on investment (other than for the televised pain). MasterChef JuniorThis continues to make the food delicious, wholesome, and tasty. Ramsay is a decorated chef but his ability to entertain is just as impressive. He is smart and animated, giving thoughtful insights into the restaurant business while scolding the chicken for its quality. After he begins to feel the pain in his back, Ramsay’s fireworks truly begin.

The best question: “Do you have any thoughts on this black foods trend known as ‘goth foods’?” Operating at the highest possible level of the food industry, Ramsay is perhaps the best person to ask about meals that place appearance over all else. Unsurprisingly, he’s not really into the idea of getting ice cream that has charcoal in it and thinks some people have too much time on their hands.

Tyra Banks

Season 5, Episode 14

Besides the meme industry complex Tyra BanksHe is best known as a supermodel, fashionista, and talk-show host. The show allows you to get to know someone way more personably than you would on a six-minute late night couch stint, but you never really truly understand someone until you meet the people that raised them, which is exactly what happened when Banks’ mother, Carolyn London, joined her for a single wing. Banks, who hosts the show’s most hilarious guests, gives fascinating insight into modeling and fashion, tries unsuccessfully to meet 2 Chainz and uses her modeling expertise to comment on some of Evans’ promotional pictures, while also revealing her love for Larry David. Although she refused to consume the ninth wing, choosing instead to allow a unprepared, nervous cameraman to perform the task, Banks returned to the table in order to conquer The Last Dab (the 10th and last wing).

This is the best question “I know that you were helping to teach a class for Stanford MBAs called ‘Project You: Building and Extending Your Personal Brand.’ Is it true you started the class having the students take one-minute videos of themselves?” As mentioned earlier, it’s a common experience on the show for the guest to be genuinely surprised by a question (they don’t see or know what the questions are beforehand), and Banks is stopped dead in her tracks, asking Evans how he knew that about her. Banks explains that she used the video as a gauge to help students see the extent of their brands’ development by the end.

Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key

Season 2, Episode 8

In the days before press conferences were held in hotels, movie stars had to interview some of the most feverish and abrasive personalities. Keegan-Michael KeyAnd Jordan PeeleWhile promoting the original show, they were asked to appear on an edited version. Keanu. The interview was 15 minutes long, only enough time for the last five wings, so the interview goes from 0 to 100 almost immediately, and the result is one of the show’s most purely funny episodes. Peele starts noticeably struggling on the second (usually the seventh) wing as he hits Evans with a comically dead-eyed stare and dropped jaw while Key answers a question about attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. They continue hitting wall after wall, while answering hilarious questions about unaired topics. Key & Peele sketches, collectively referred to as “Camp Awesome,” and with Key flexing his knowledge about Scovilles (“I know that it’s a unit and I can tell you I know it has something to do with how fucked up my mouth feels.”) The episode ends with them pleading with anyone watching to never come on the show.

Ask the most important question: “What sketch in ‘Camp Awesome’ are you so upset that it just hasn’t seen the light of day? That nobody will ever see it?” Though they’re both taken aback at how Evans knows about something as obscure as “Camp Awesome,” most of their focus is on the pain, leading Peele to quickly make up a sketch about happily swimming and drowning in a vat of water.

Olivia Rodrigo

Season 15, Episode 5

Like Billie Eilish before her, Olivia RodrigoThe show featured her just as she was reaching the peak of stardom. It’s rare to see young entertainers get the long-form interview treatment for a number of reasons, many of them likely related to a lack of media experience, but These are the Hot Ones has a proven track record as a gotcha-free zone, so the guest’s only real concern is not puking on the internet. This was Rodrigo’s coming out party. The most striking thing about the show was her seeming completely normal. After being a singer/songwriter phenomenon for several months, Rodrigo was suddenly a well-adjusted music theater geek with lots of energy. This wasn’t someone with superficial extraterrestrial clothing and a holier-than-thou disposition. It was just someone who had done their work and is now a pop star. Interviews like this changed people’s perceptions of pop stars and showed the possibilities. These are the Hot OnesCould be a great opportunity for emerging talent.

Ask the most important question: “As a musician who covers such a wide gamut of styles, how do you know when a feeling or an idea will fit best in, like, a pop-punk song versus, like, a heartbreak ballad versus, like, an alt-rock anthem?” In Rodrigo’s view, contemporary pop music has become largely genreless. Rodrigo starts with the lyrics and builds on them using whatever music or tempo she finds most appropriate.

Dave Grohl

Season 17, Episode 6

Many guests come to the hotel with an idea of how to counter heat. Alton Brown tried half-and-half (and it seems he might be right, considering his seeming painless performance). Jack Black, Kyle Gass and Kyle Gass consumed Thai iced Teas. The universally loved rockstar Jack Black. Dave Grohl Sean Evans took a scorched-earth strategy and extinguished all his senses with several shots Black Tooth Grins. This simple mix of Crown Royal, Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola was stirred together with hot-sauce-covered hands and enjoyed in large quantities. Grohl knows the neighborhood well, and there is plenty of material to be covered. The show aired shortly before the passing of fellow Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins, and among the topics discussed was the late drummer’s cover band, Chevy Metal, which Grohl occasionally sat in on, once pulling a muscle in his hand trying to keep up with an Andy Summers guitar riff. Grohl begins to recount how incredible it was for him to be on the last wing. This is uncharacteristically emotional. SNLAnd Letterman after dreaming about being on those stages for years, and then he surprisingly equates those moments to the show he’s currently on. It’s too much for Evans to process and the show ends with both men hugging and shit-faced.

Ask the most important question: “In 2015 you famously finished a show in Sweden after falling off the stage two songs in and severely breaking your leg. What’s the second-most-severe injury that you’ve ever suffered while performing?” It would have been surprising if Grohl hadn’t suffered some sort of ridiculous injury based on how he dealt with the broken leg, but while nothing really came close, getting hit in the face with a half dollar as well as getting electrically shocked on a stage perplexingly situated by a swimming pool ain’t a walk in the park either.

Chelsea Handler

Season 8, Episode 11

These are the Hot OnesLate-night TV shares some DNA. That is why several talk show hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers have tried to get in on the guest seats. But the best was when Chelsea HandlerShe brought her own brand of comedy to this show. A show that doesn’t care about their reputation thrives. Handler makes for an entertaining and hilarious interview. Her standup origins are traced back to DUI classes where she made fellow classmates laugh, and Handler describes her arrest in stunning detail. She continues the interview by talking about unusual experiences like six-course marijuana meals or getting drunk while on safari with a friend. These are the Hot OnesChampion) Charlize Thon and her topless rampages via Instagram. Handler hits a pretty hard wall with Da’ Bomb and is hesitant to continue, but Evans at this point in his tenure is a battle-hardened spice lord who has seen every conceivable psychological struggle that guests could have and is able to help guide her through the volcanic terrain of the last two wings to These are the Hot Ones glory.

Ask the most important question: “Do you have a take on the state of the celebrity interview show? Like is the late-night format failing its audience or is that a position that’s a little overstated?” Handler sees the traditional schmoozy-style of celebrity couch interview as outside her own personal skill set (and anyone who watched Chelsea Lately would certainly agree with that assertion), but concedes there’s a place for it since the audience is clearly there.

DJ Khaled

Episode 8 of Season 1

Widely considered to be the most infuriating guest ever. DJ Khaled’s episode is distinctly important in that it laid the foundation of how not to approach the show. Khaled, who clearly knew what he was in for, brought the Finga Licking chef into his kitchen to check the quality of his chicken. But he could have avoided the cost. Amazingly, after the second wing, Khaled has to abandon the party with many excuses. He goes on to tell Evans that he’s crazy, the show is dangerous, and then strangely claims he doesn’t know anything about These are the Hot Ones. Although the interview goes on, it doesn’t end in its usual rut of oddness. At one point a poetically waxing Khaled lingers way too long on a metaphor about ripping open the doors to success and placing the proverbial hinges in the hands of the “fuckboy” trying to keep it closed (“it’s called congratulations, you played yourself”). He also keeps talking to someone off-screen, complaining that he’s fucked up because of the wings and expressing concern that he’s maybe on Punk’d. It is so bad, that guests will mention it in every episode. Multiple challengers have given up early but everyone now knows how to do it with modesty.

Ask the most important question: “You called this album an uppercut and a knockout and I always wonder when you say these things, who are you fighting? When you called this a victory, who did you defeat?” It’s not always clear if even Khaled is sure what the next word out of his mouth is going to be, at least in this interview, but if there’s one thing he does know it’s that he doesn’t care for the fuckboys, whoever they may be.

Sean Evans

Season 3, Episode 23

When the game was over, it turned out to be very entertaining. Sean Evans himself sat in the guest chair for a single episode, marking the only time he didn’t host the show. Brett Baker is a super fan and his greatest claim to fame was posting. These are the Hot OnesTwitter episode power rankings, I was asked to host the interview. It turned out that it was an easy task despite being rescued from complete obscurity. For die-hard chicken wings fans, the show should be viewed regularly as it gives a glimpse into how an interview show runs behind-the scenes. Among the revelations was the secret process of finding compelling questions to ask the guests (turns out it’s a lot of reading?What number of hoodies Evans owns and how it felt to be seated next to Bobby Lee as he peed. Evans said that he wanted to be a weatherman and that his broadcast journalism professor told him so.

This is the best question “When you were figuring out exactly what Hot Ones was, was there anyone you looked to as inspiration?” Evans often cites the purposely weird and offbeat interviews of Alexa Chung on Britain’s PopworldHe wanted to change up celebrity interviews that are often boring. He also wanted to emulate Howard Stern’s ability to make any guest interesting, and the results speak for themselves.