“Hot Ones” host Sean Evans reflects on the success of his hit show

foreign [Music] it's the show known for its hot questions and even hotter Wings you're crushing it you're doing great but this is gonna kill me right since 2015 hot ones host Sean Evans has been challenging his guests to eat 10 wings with progressively fiery sauces all while asking burning questions what role did roadside boiled peanut stands play in your life Are you seriously trying to do this interview still guests are often impressed by Sean's well-researched interviews we spent a week in spring training with the Dodgers back in 2010 is there a story that stands out so probably not a lot of people know that I did that I'm so excited that you just asked that question I was so excited but the hot wings frequently lead to some heated exchanges it's okay it's okay who are you why are we here nobody's ever whooped you up after all these chickens for our interview I decided to cool things down a bit I'm at Sean at the Museum of ice cream in New York City making Sundays do you want any um chocolate yeah yeah do you ever feel like you're the host of an awkward first date during your interview because I always say that because you know it sort of mimics a first date sometimes because the guest is babbling or over sharing because they're so nervous and uncomfortable right well you know what I think that's kind of just the nature of this like even this is like that you know we've never met before we have to create this Freedom awkward energy this chemistry no no no no no you haven't done anything to blow it yet okay great but uh overall I think it's just uh creating that uh trust between two people in this bizarre context and uh just seeing where it goes and trying your best you know I think you just try to set the guest up for Success set yourself up for success and then whatever happens happens well speaking of success I mean it's it's areas because you're are watching these celebrities arrive in pain but they come out of it praising you what have you learned about Humanity through your show oh that's a good question maybe it's a it's a lesson in trauma bonding I've seen people challenged I've seen people down and out I've seen people that look like they can't get off the mat is discomfort sort of part of your strategy or goal in getting people to open up yeah well we kind of think both you know uh inside we kind of say that we wanted to be the most comfortable least comfortable interview show you know I do think we try to set our guests up for Success we care about them you know if they're going to come in here and burn their faces off and sweat on camera for us then we should at least try to meet them halfway with what is hopefully a thoughtful career spanning interview along the way and I think at the end of the day I don't have any like I'm not trying to punish anybody you know what I mean the show just kind of has to be like that and I'm almost like I'm sorry I know like I get it we're on the same level you know like even if they I get kind of mad at me but then it becomes this emotional roller coaster that kind of makes it a thing that is kind of I think been the special sauce in the whole thing or that's allowed it to last for so long is you end up kind of really getting to know this person uh through this hot one's Gauntlet I'm gonna throw like interesting I'm going everywhere oh I love that like uh wow you're really trusting the process I am Sean a native of Evanston Illinois and broadcast journalism graduate created the show with producer Chris Schoenberger when you and Chris first came up with the concept what was your intention what did you want to get out of the interview we had an idea for a celebrity interview show but we wanted to disrupt it you know celebrity interview shows are kind of boring or at least we thought that because everyone's in a bit of a PR driven flight pattern you know you recognize that you're in this formal setting you know you do everything to protect the image you know celebrities this thing that by definition is unobtainable so there's so much uh protection that goes into the image of that and we wanted to disrupt that at and we were like well how could we do that and then Chris said well what if we had them eat increasingly spicy chicken wings over the course of the interview as a way to break them down and it was just a Cupid's arrow right into my brain and we shot the pilot and we haven't stopped shooting it since but I think that that's kind of the magic in it you know celebrity is this thing that by definition is unobtainable but we all know what it's like to die on hot sauce so it kind of just brings everyone down to the same level and in a way I feel like we accidentally invented that what's it like to have a beer with this person's show you know hot ones has become a cultural phenomenon nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards and even spoofed on SNL Beyonce sorry I'm good beyond the interview you have created products and hot sauces and games yeah you really turn this into a business is that beyond your wildest dreams are sort of right on track no totally Beyond any dream or or aspiration I ever had for the show um you know the hot sauce started off as just a way to for fans to touch the show you know you do you do TV you know you do something on the Internet you make this thing you know that people watch it but how do you know you know like you want a tangible thing that people can connect to so we just made it as like kind of a gift thing and it flew off the shelves and then we were like okay well there's a thing here and it allowed us you know to kind of uh give fans a taste of the show and I think it's there's so much interaction that happens with the show you know people see it and you naturally Wonder like could I make it through the spice you know and so uh we just have an ability for people to have that thing and do it at home you know yeah and you've been doing it since 2015 were you into spicy foods before that you know I I had my dad was a salsa purist so there was like no mild salsa anywhere in the house you know you had to you know even at eight years old watching a Bears game putting that chip in you know I had to get lit up so I do have my dad to thank for that you know even though it was maybe C minus parenting at the time but I was never like a hot sauce Aficionado I was never a master of hot sauce so that was just something I had to figure out as you go and thankfully like cardio hot sauce is something that you can kind of build a tolerance to I guess only you know that yeah I guess you know like I'm like a lab rat for the whole uh for the whole experience but um but it does you know once you kind of know what to expect and you've been through it so many times and of course you're dealing with somebody who has no idea what's happening so uh it's just those hours those 10 000 hours well yes 300 episodes which means you've had over 3 000 hot wings oh yeah yeah it's a lot so are you immune to the heat now or or do you still feeling I think uh Colin Farrell put it this way a familiarity with the pain you know I always know what's happening I'm never in Uncharted Territory yeah so I think sometimes for our guests their spiciest meal that they've ever eaten in their lives is during this show you know and then they're doing it in this ridiculous context where they have the lights and the cameras all around them it's almost feel like I need to Shepherd them through that experience I have so many plates spinning in my head that I can't even think about the spice so I think that in some ways that helps me but I think the most important thing is just I've been smoked out so many times I've had the cramps I've had the neck sweats I've had the hair on my arms stand up a million times before so when it happens I'm not at all surprised so how do you prep your body for it you know I the only thing I do is just kind of eat light you know half a bagel before maybe banana before um I and that's kind of it and then afterwards this like I like ice cream you know that's the thing and it's kind of a Moment of Zen that I have where I get the milkshake or the ice cream at the end of every show and I just have that moment to myself so it's become sort of like a pavlovian reward for The Quiet reward the quiet rewards I want to play a game called brain free oh where the questions are icy not spicy okay and if you feel better thank you and if you feel they're too icy you can just take a bite of your Sunday instead of answering the question okay first question enjoy watching celebrities go through their painful times you know what I um depends there's a line all right that uh when it crosses I am like I'm so sorry you know when they get up and they're walking because like I know that feeling and they just can't stop drinking milk you know like when they're on their second glass of milk yeah chill and stop you know like I'm trying to guide them through and I kind of am like I I feel for them I understand what they're going through and because you're doing it too yeah and I've been there I know exactly what it's like you just you just want to curl up in the fetal position on a on a bathroom floor you know and like I've been there so like when that's going on I'm like I know I know just just two more ones left we're almost there you're doing great which club has panicked the most Pete Davidson comes immediately to mind when I think about that wow two Wings To Go [Music] do you ever skip a hot wing while the celebrity is taking one no I am a chicken wing talk show host of the highest identity everything is always sauce people are like oh you know Sean's Wings aren't sauce or Sean's faking it or whatever any guest that comes in before the show if they want to swap the paddles Which has happened before I'm down for it if they want to swap the paddles halfway through but you're right you know over 300 episodes 21 seasons 3 000 chicken wings and I have eaten every single one I have an amazing you are cleverly reactive you're direct you're also empathetic what do you attribute all that to I maybe there's a Midwestern sensibility I I think there's like a an impulsory uh natural reaction to see the good in people um and to naturally be a little bit nicer but overall I'm just I'm just an idiot trying my best um before we wrap what do you want the viewers to take away after watching one of your interviews I want them to be entertained I want them to laugh I want them to learn something if they're moved by it you know I remember growing up what TV meant for me as an escape uh and the way that a family matters holiday special would hit me right in the heart and uh the way that sometimes it was there when I needed it uh to be there and that's my favorite thing to hear from people on the street when they're like oh it got me through something or I was sick in the hospital and it was watching you know those sorts of things I understand exactly what that feeling is because I've felt that feeling before so that to me is like the top of the pyramid but if people just laugh or people learn something or people think that something's interesting or they want to learn more about something or the person that we're talking to or maybe they've never heard of this person before and then they like them and explore the whole catalog and listen to the music or watch the movies you you know that's kind of the the energy the gigawatt energy that I'm trying to tap into when you zoom Zoom world how do you do this for for the audience you always just have to serve the audience and I think that if you're doing this and you're not doing it for those reasons then you're doing it for the wrong reasons you know uh we only exist because people filled the theater or tune in or click uh so if you're not doing it for them then I don't even get it well Sean Evans time to roll out the red carpet not going on well you know I got this soupy uh bowl of ice cream that once was you have some cookies floating around in it and uh you know what I'm just gonna finish this with Donna it's been such a lovely conversation and uh this is I guess I'll just figuratively and literally just put a cherry on top oh I like that I'll do the same a nice alternative to spicy [Music] hey thanks for watching don't miss the Today show every weekday at 11 A.M Eastern 8 Pacific on our streaming Channel today all day to watch head to today.com all day or click the link right here

Channel: TODAY

Views: 418,070

Keywords: Today, Today Show, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, domestic news, international news, weather, interviews, politics, money, media, entertainment, sports, breaking news, food, health, home, parents, style, concerts, pets, shopping, Hoda Kotb

Id: Wg7hv_J0H2s

Length: 12min 44sec (764 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 29 2023