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{{short description|American YouTuber and producer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Short description|American YouTuber and producer (born 1986)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
⚫
| name = Sean Evans
| image =
| name = Sean Evans
| caption =
| image = Sean Evans 2021.png
⚫
| caption = Evans in 2021
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|4|26}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|4|26}}
| birth_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S
| birth_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S.
| years_active = 2014–present
| years_active = 2014–present
| occupation = YouTuber, producer
| spouse =
| occupation = YouTuber, producer
| alma_mater = [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]]<ref name= "Evans p. ">{{harvnb|Evans|2017|p=}}</ref>
| education = [[University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
}}
}}
'''Sean Evans''' (born April 26, 1986) is an American [[YouTuber]] and producer. He is the host of the [[YouTube]] series ''[[Hot Ones]]'', in which he interviews celebrities while they eat progressively hotter [[Chicken as food|chicken wings]].
'''Sean Evans''' (born April 26, 1986)<ref>{{Citation |title=Key & Peele Lose Their Minds Eating Spicy Wings {{!}} Hot Ones @ 05:21 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_9v-7rtVDk&t=05m21s |access-date=2023-05-05 |language=en |quote=You know that Chernobyl happened on my actual birthday, April 26, 1986.}}</ref> is an American [[YouTuber]] who is best known for co-creating and hosting the series ''[[Hot Ones]]'', in which he interviews celebrities as they eat progressively spicier [[Buffalo wing|chicken wings]].


==Education and early career==
Born in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Evans found fame on the Internet not only for his proficiency in celebrity interviews, but also for eating incredibly hot food like the [[Carolina Reaper]] pepper, which holds the title for hottest pepper by [[Guinness World Records]]. He cites eating [[purgency|spicy]] food as a child for building up his tolerance.<ref name= "Nsubuga p. ">{{harvnb|Nsubuga|2015|p=}}</ref><ref name= "Kevin Lynch p.">{{harvnb|Lynch|2013|p=}}</ref> Before working as an interviewer, Evans was a copywriter for the Chicago tourism board.<ref name= "Harris p. ">{{harvnb|Harris|2016|p=}}</ref>
Sean Evans was born in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Michael Evans and Donna Arthofer. He has a brother named Gavin. Evans is a 2004 graduate of [[Crystal Lake Central High School]], where he played football and baseball.<ref name="ArthoferObit">{{cite news |title=Donna Arthofer Obituary (2003) - Chicago, IL - Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/donna-arthofer-obituary?id=2352261 |access-date=20 July 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=1 March 2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crystal Lake native, U of I grad Sean Evans found success and stardom with hot wings and 'Hot Ones: The Game Show' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-lns-ent-sean-evans-0814-20200803-3xgvrtb7xvdfrg6efbegy4rboy-story.html |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Chicago Tribune|date=August 4, 2020 }}</ref> He graduated from the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]]<ref name= "Evans p. ">{{harvnb|Evans|2017|p=}}</ref> in 2008 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in broadcast journalism, where a professor suggested he become a weatherman.<ref>[https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-evans-a7110231/ Sean Evans: LinkedIn]. Retrieved January 25, 2021.</ref><ref name="Sims">{{Cite web |last=Sims |first=Karen |date=2020-03-31 |title=The Untold Truth Of Sean Evans From Hot Ones |url=https://www.mashed.com/198146/the-untold-truth-of-sean-evans-from-hot-ones/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Mashed |language=en-US}}</ref> He grew up looking up to the interviewing prowess of [[Howard Stern]], [[Jimmy Kimmel]], [[David Letterman]], and [[Adam Carolla]].<ref name="Kranc">{{Cite web |last=Kranc |first=Lauren |date=2021-04-01 |title=Sorry, Sean Evans Isn't Reading Your DMs |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a35991892/sean-evans-hot-ones-snl-skit-interview/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Esquire |language=en-us}}</ref> One of his earliest memories, he says, is his father taping ''Letterman'' during the week and binge-watching them all on a Saturday.<ref name="Harris">{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Jenn |date=2016-10-20 |title=This guy eats hot wings with celebrities for a living. Seriously. |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-hot-ones-wings-sean-evans-20160810-snap-story.html |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>


Before working as an interviewer, Evans was a copywriter for the Chicago tourism board. During that time, he freelanced for ''[[Complex (magazine)|Complex Magazine]]'', doing on-screen interviews with celebrities such as [[2 Chainz]] and [[Steph Curry]] in New Orleans. Complex liked his interviews and offered him a full-time job, so he quit his copywriting job and moved to New York a month later.<ref name="Sims"/>
==''Complex'' reporter==
Evans started freelancing for [[Complex (magazine)|Complex Magazine]] in New Orleans, doing interviews for the publication and putting them on their YouTube channel, interviewing famous celebrities such as [[2 Chainz]] and [[Stephen Curry|Steph Curry]]. The magazine offered him a full-time job in [[New York City]], and he quickly quit his job and started a career at Complex.<ref name= "Evans p. "/>


==''Hot Ones''==
==''Hot Ones''==
{{main|Hot Ones}}
{{main|Hot Ones}}
''Hot Ones'' is created by Christopher Schonberger and produced by [[First We Feast|FirstWeFeast.com]] and Complex Media. Its [[tagline]], stated by Evans at the beginning of each episode, is "The show with hot questions, and even hotter wings." The show was created from a meeting between Sean Evans and FirstWeFeast.com Editor-in-Chief Christopher Schonberger.
Evans is the host of ''Hot Ones'', which he co-created with Chris Schonberger, the General Manager of [[First We Feast]], the former [[Complex Media]] property that produces the show.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/31/20938739/hot-ones-sean-evans-youtube-guests-gordon-ramsey-idris-elba-late-night-tv|title = Inside Hot Ones, the wildly popular and violently spicy YouTube show|last = Stephen|first = Bijan|date = 31 October 2019|website = The Verge}}</ref> ''Hot Ones''{{'}} [[tagline]] is, "It's the show with hot questions, and even hotter wings", and Evans repeats it in the intro to each episode. New episodes normally come out Thursdays at 11 a.m. ET.<ref name="Harris"/>


The idea for ''Hot Ones'' sprang from a meeting in which Evans and Schonberger were brainstorming ways to create a fresh take on the celebrity interview. In a 2022 ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' profile about Evans, Schonberger described the initial discussions about a hot wing interview show: "I just thought it was funny ... Then we kind of saw this magic happen in the room". Evans and Schonberger realized that the concept carried an added feature: the hot sauce helped break down guests' inhibitions and encouraged them to set aside the usual late night TV-style talking points.<ref name="Jarvey">{{Cite magazine |last=Jarvey |first=Natalie |date=2022-11-01 |title=How Hot Ones Turned Spicy Chicken Wings Into Celebrity Interview Gold |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/how-hot-ones-turned-spicy-chicken-wings-into-celebrity-interview-gold |access-date=2022-11-07 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref> Evans has said, "Celebrity is so unobtainable by definition, you know. But what's more common man than dying on hot sauce?"<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singh |first1=Ashan |last2=Coburn |last3=McCarthy |date=2019-06-07 |title=How YouTube's 'Hot Ones' host Sean Evans realized hot sauce was his 'lightning in a bottle' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/youtubes-hot-host-sean-evans-realized-hot-sauce/story?id=63554842 |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>
Evans has interviewed a number of celebrities, including [[Shaquille O'Neal]], [[Marques Brownlee]], [[Billie Eilish]], [[Jeff Goldblum]], [[Kevin Hart]], [[Charlize Theron]], [[Guy Fieri]], [[Gordon Ramsay]], [[Post Malone]], [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], [[Neil deGrasse Tyson]], [[Scarlett Johansson]], and [[Paul Rudd]].<ref name="Irish Examiner p.">{{harvnb|Irish Examiner|2016|p=}}</ref> The format involves Evans and his guest eating ten chicken wings, each prepared with a progressively hotter [[hot sauce]]. The current final sauce, The Last Dab XXX, has a [[Scoville_scale|Scoville rating]] of 2,000,000.<ref name="Scoville Scale">{{cite web|title=Scoville Scale &#8211; The Official Scott Roberts Website |url=http://www.scottrobertsweb.com/scoville-scale |publisher=Scott Roberts Web|accessdate=August 11, 2017|date=June 7, 2012}}</ref>


The format of the show, which regularly amasses millions of views per episode on [[YouTube]], involves Evans and his guest eating 10 chicken wings, or vegan substitutes, each doused in a different [[hot sauce]] that is spicier than the one before it.<ref name="Jarvey"/> In each season of the show, the lineup of hot sauces changes, with the exception of the eighth wing (Da Bomb Beyond Insanity) and the 10th wing (The Last Dab, a sauce created by ''Hot Ones'' and the Brooklyn-based hot sauce company Heatonist). The term "the last dab" refers to the show's tradition of Evans and his guest "dabbing" each final wing with an extra dollop of the namesake sauce.
Every season, sauces used on camera are rotated and replaced with new ones. In season 4, "The Last Dab" was introduced and is created by Hot Ones. The sauce is projected to be around 2 million Scoville units.<ref>{{Citation|last=First We Feast|title=Everything You Need to Know About The Last Dab, the Hottest Sauce on Hot Ones|date=2017-09-19|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zCYX0esYlo|accessdate=2017-10-24}}</ref> After each wing, Evans asks his guest an interview question. As the wings get hotter, the guest begins to display the effects of eating the hotter wings and the interview becomes less about the guest and more about the struggle to finish the wings. The guests are also provided glasses of water and milk to counteract the effect of the wings.


Evans has interviewed hundreds of celebrities, including [[Shaquille O'Neal]], [[Conan O'Brien]], [[Ed Sheeran]], [[Justin Timberlake]], [[Cate Blanchett]], [[Billie Eilish]], [[Matt Damon]], [[Kevin Hart]], [[Kristen Stewart]], [[Gordon Ramsay]], [[Post Malone]], [[Dua Lipa]], [[Neil deGrasse Tyson]], [[Joji (musician)|Joji]], [[Scarlett Johansson]], [[Noel Gallagher]], [[Salma Hayek]], and [[Jimmy Kimmel]] among others.<ref name="Irish Examiner p.">{{harvnb|Irish Examiner|2016|p=}}</ref> Evans' episode, in 2019, with [[Paul Rudd]] spawned the [[meme]], "Look at us. Who would have thought? Not me."<ref name="Kranc"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wanshel |first=Elyse |date=2019-10-24 |title=Paul Rudd Has A Hilarious New Meme That's As Snarky As He Is |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paul-rudd-meme-hot-ones-wings-look-at-us_n_5db1ad43e4b0131fa99ac121 |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>
The standard show includes Evans and one guest eating ten wings each, but in some episodes where there are two guests (such as the episode featuring [[Keegan-Michael Key]] and [[Jordan Peele]]) only five wings are given to each guest. A guest who successfully finishes all ten wings is given the opportunity to promote their upcoming projects; guests who fail are still awarded this opportunity but are added to the show's infamous Hall of Shame.


Other videos for ''First We Feast'' include teaming up with [[Chili Klaus]], another spicy food internet personality, to eat a Carolina Reaper pepper, a record-breaking chili pepper (1,569,300 Scovilles) grown by chili pepper guru [[Ed Currie|Smokin' Ed Currie]].<ref name="Sims"/> Evans and Klaus reunited to eat the pepper a second time, that time while riding on a horse carriage in [[Central Park]].<ref name="Sims"/>
⚫
There is a Hot Ones game show premiering on TruTV in early 2020. It airs on Tuesdays, 10PM Eastern time.<ref>{{Citation|last=First We Feast|title=Hot Ones The Game Show|date=2020-04-14|url=https://www.trutv.com/shows/hot-ones-the-game-show?cid=Search-Paid_Hot-Ones_2020_Brand&source=Search-Paid&campaign=Hot-Ones_2020_Brand&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1283274|accessdate=2020-04-14}}</ref>


⚫
In 2020, Evans began hosting ''Hot Ones: The Game Show'', a trivia game show based on ''Hot Ones'' that aired on [[TruTV]].<ref>{{Citation|last=First We Feast|title=Hot Ones The Game Show|date=2020-04-14|url=https://www.trutv.com/shows/hot-ones-the-game-show?cid=Search-Paid_Hot-Ones_2020_Brand&source=Search-Paid&campaign=Hot-Ones_2020_Brand&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1283274|access-date=2020-04-14}}</ref>
⚫
==References==

In 2021, [[Mikey Day]] impersonated Evans in a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' skit where [[Maya Rudolph]] plays [[Beyoncé]] in a spoof episode of ''Hot Ones'' and ends up having a meltdown due to not being able to handle the spiciness.<ref>{{Citation|title=Hot Ones with Beyoncé - SNL|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJYc3m89nwk|language=en|access-date=2021-04-15}}</ref> A year later, in June 2022, Evans did a cameo as himself in an episode of [[Apple TV+]] show ''[[Loot (TV series)|Loot]]'', where the main character, also played by Rudolph, does the ''Hot Ones'' interview and ends up having a meltdown due to not being able to handle the spiciness.

On May 25, 2021, Evans was nominated for the [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host]] at the [[48th Daytime Emmy Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|title=2021 Daytime Emmy Awards: Talk Show Host and Lead Actress Nominees Revealed (Exclusive)|url=https://www.etonline.com/2021-daytime-emmy-awards-talk-show-host-and-lead-actress-nominees-revealed-exclusive-166272|website=Entertainment Tonight|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|date=May 24, 2021|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> He has won internet entertainment awards including the Shorty, the Lovie, and the Webby.<ref name="Sims"/> Evans has appeared on ''[[Good Morning America]]'', ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]]'', ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]'', ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]'', and ''[[The View (talk show)|The View]]''.

On July 19, 2019, the Chicago native threw out the first pitch at a Cubs-Pirates game at [[Wrigley Field]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 12, 2019 |title=Cubs kick off second half of the season with visits from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and San Diego |url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-cubs-kick-off-second-half-of-the-season-at-wrigley-field-with-visi |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref>

In a 2021 interview with ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', Evans addressed the future of the show this way: "I do feel in some ways closer to the end of it than the beginning. We have been doing it for a long time and I'm not sure there's anything that I'm leaving on the table. ''Hot Ones'' has already done 10 laps around any expectation that I ever had for it ... So it's in a spot where I'm just doing something that I really enjoy doing. So I'm committed to ''Hot Ones'' for as long as the fans will allow it."<ref name="Kranc"/>

In December 2024, First We Feast was purchased from [[BuzzFeed]] for {{USD|82.5}}{{nbsp}}million by an investment group that included Evans, Schonberger, [[Mythical Entertainment]], [[Crooked Media]], and [[Soros Fund Management]].<ref name="NYTHotOnesBuy">{{cite news |last1=Mullin |first1=Benjamin |title=BuzzFeed Strikes Deal to Sell 'Hot Ones' Company for $82.5 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/business/buzzfeed-hot-ones-sale.html |access-date=12 December 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=12 December 2024}}</ref>

⚫
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==Sources==
*{{cite AV media |last=Evans|first=Sean interviews [[2 Chainz]]|date=February 19, 2014|year= |title=2 Chainz Kicks Game About His New Adidas Sneaker Deal |trans-title= |medium=YouTube|language= |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoiPLM1oVvk |access-date= |archive-url= |archive-date= |format= |time= |location= |publisher= [[Complex (magazine)|Complex News]]|id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }}
{{toomanylinks|date=July 2019}}
*{{cite AV media |ref=harv|last=Evans|first=Sean interviews [[2 Chainz]]|date=February 19, 2014|year= |title=2 Chainz Kicks Game About His New Adidas Sneaker Deal |trans-title= |medium=YouTube|language= |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoiPLM1oVvk |access-date= |archive-url= |archive-date= |format= |time= |location= |publisher= [[Complex (magazine)|Complex News]]|id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }}
*{{cite web |last=Evans|first=Sean Interviewee|date=March 3, 2017|url = https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5x4bgy/hi_im_sean_evans_host_of_first_we_feasts_hot_ones/ |title =Hi! I'm Sean Evans, host of First We Feast's Hot Ones on the YouTube. Ask me anything!|format = |publisher = Reddit IAMA| access-date = March 4, 2017 |quote=}}
*{{cite web |ref=harv|last=Evans|first=Sean Interviewee|date=March 3, 2017|url = https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5x4bgy/hi_im_sean_evans_host_of_first_we_feasts_hot_ones/ |title =Hi! I'm Sean Evans, host of First We Feast's Hot Ones on the YouTube. Ask me anything!|format = |publisher = Reddit IAMA| accessdate = March 4, 2017 |quote=}}
*{{cite web |last=Harris|first=Jenn |date=October 20, 2016|url = http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-hot-ones-wings-sean-evans-20160810-snap-story.html|title =This guy eats hot wings with celebrities for a living. Seriously.|work = [[Los Angeles Times]]| access-date = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}
*{{cite web |ref=harv|last=Harris|first=Jenn |date=October 20, 2016|url = http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-hot-ones-wings-sean-evans-20160810-snap-story.html|title =This guy eats hot wings with celebrities for a living. Seriously.|work = [[Los Angeles Times]]| accessdate = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}
*{{cite web|last=Irish Examiner|author-link=Irish Examiner|date=October 11, 2016|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/celeb-life/kevin-hart-might-have-the-funniest-hot-ones-interview-yet-425227.html|title=Kevin Hart might have the funniest Hot Ones interview yet|publisher=[[Irish Examiner]]|access-date=November 23, 2016|quote=|archive-date=November 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123201455/http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/celeb-life/kevin-hart-might-have-the-funniest-hot-ones-interview-yet-425227.html|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web |ref=harv|last=Irish Examiner|authorlink=Irish Examiner|date=October 11, 2016|url = http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/celeb-life/kevin-hart-might-have-the-funniest-hot-ones-interview-yet-425227.html|title =Kevin Hart might have the funniest Hot Ones interview yet|publisher = [[Irish Examiner]]| accessdate = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}
*{{cite web |last=Lynch|first=Kevin |author-link=Guinness World Records|date=19 November 2013|url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/11/confirmed-smokin-eds-carolina-reaper-sets-new-record-for-hottest-chilli-53033|title =Confirmed: Smokin Ed's Carolina Reaper sets new record for hottest chilli|format = |publisher = [[Guinness World Records]]| access-date = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}
*{{cite web |ref=harv|last=Lynch|first=Kevin |authorlink=Guinness World Records|date=19 November 2013|url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/11/confirmed-smokin-eds-carolina-reaper-sets-new-record-for-hottest-chilli-53033|title =Confirmed: Smokin Ed's Carolina Reaper sets new record for hottest chilli|format = |publisher = [[Guinness World Records]]| accessdate = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}
* {{cite web |last=Nsubuga|first=Jimmy |date=December 6, 2015|url = http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/06/watch-these-two-guys-eating-the-hottest-pepper-in-the-world-it-looks-like-torture-5547224/|title =Watch these two guys eating the hottest pepper in the world – it looks like torture|format = |publisher = [[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]| access-date = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}

* {{cite web |ref=harv|last=Nsubuga|first=Jimmy |date=December 6, 2015|url = http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/06/watch-these-two-guys-eating-the-hottest-pepper-in-the-world-it-looks-like-torture-5547224/|title =Watch these two guys eating the hottest pepper in the world – it looks like torture|format = |publisher = [[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]| accessdate = November 23, 2016 |quote=}}
== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|8797195}}


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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Internet celebrities]]
[[Category:American Internet celebrities]]
[[Category:American men podcasters]]
[[Category:American interview podcasters]]
[[Category:American podcasters]]
[[Category:Food and cooking YouTubers]]
[[Category:Food and cooking YouTubers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Chicago]]
[[Category:Male actors from Chicago]]
[[Category:Male bloggers]]
[[Category:People from Crystal Lake, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Crystal Lake, Illinois]]
[[Category:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni]]
[[Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media alumni]]
[[Category:Video bloggers]]

Latest revision as of 03:43, 15 December 2024

Sean Evans
Evans in 2021
Born (1986-04-26) April 26, 1986 (age 38)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA)
Occupation(s)YouTuber, producer
Years active2014–present

Sean Evans (born April 26, 1986)[1] is an American YouTuber who is best known for co-creating and hosting the series Hot Ones, in which he interviews celebrities as they eat progressively spicier chicken wings.

Education and early career

[edit]

Sean Evans was born in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Michael Evans and Donna Arthofer. He has a brother named Gavin. Evans is a 2004 graduate of Crystal Lake Central High School, where he played football and baseball.[2][3] He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign[4] in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism, where a professor suggested he become a weatherman.[5][6] He grew up looking up to the interviewing prowess of Howard Stern, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, and Adam Carolla.[7] One of his earliest memories, he says, is his father taping Letterman during the week and binge-watching them all on a Saturday.[8]

Before working as an interviewer, Evans was a copywriter for the Chicago tourism board. During that time, he freelanced for Complex Magazine, doing on-screen interviews with celebrities such as 2 Chainz and Steph Curry in New Orleans. Complex liked his interviews and offered him a full-time job, so he quit his copywriting job and moved to New York a month later.[6]

Hot Ones

[edit]
Main article: Hot Ones

Evans is the host of Hot Ones, which he co-created with Chris Schonberger, the General Manager of First We Feast, the former Complex Media property that produces the show.[9] Hot Ones' tagline is, "It's the show with hot questions, and even hotter wings", and Evans repeats it in the intro to each episode. New episodes normally come out Thursdays at 11 a.m. ET.[8]

The idea for Hot Ones sprang from a meeting in which Evans and Schonberger were brainstorming ways to create a fresh take on the celebrity interview. In a 2022 Vanity Fair profile about Evans, Schonberger described the initial discussions about a hot wing interview show: "I just thought it was funny ... Then we kind of saw this magic happen in the room". Evans and Schonberger realized that the concept carried an added feature: the hot sauce helped break down guests' inhibitions and encouraged them to set aside the usual late night TV-style talking points.[10] Evans has said, "Celebrity is so unobtainable by definition, you know. But what's more common man than dying on hot sauce?"[11]

The format of the show, which regularly amasses millions of views per episode on YouTube, involves Evans and his guest eating 10 chicken wings, or vegan substitutes, each doused in a different hot sauce that is spicier than the one before it.[10] In each season of the show, the lineup of hot sauces changes, with the exception of the eighth wing (Da Bomb Beyond Insanity) and the 10th wing (The Last Dab, a sauce created by Hot Ones and the Brooklyn-based hot sauce company Heatonist). The term "the last dab" refers to the show's tradition of Evans and his guest "dabbing" each final wing with an extra dollop of the namesake sauce.

Evans has interviewed hundreds of celebrities, including Shaquille O'Neal, Conan O'Brien, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, Cate Blanchett, Billie Eilish, Matt Damon, Kevin Hart, Kristen Stewart, Gordon Ramsay, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Joji, Scarlett Johansson, Noel Gallagher, Salma Hayek, and Jimmy Kimmel among others.[12] Evans' episode, in 2019, with Paul Rudd spawned the meme, "Look at us. Who would have thought? Not me."[7][13]

Other videos for First We Feast include teaming up with Chili Klaus, another spicy food internet personality, to eat a Carolina Reaper pepper, a record-breaking chili pepper (1,569,300 Scovilles) grown by chili pepper guru Smokin' Ed Currie.[6] Evans and Klaus reunited to eat the pepper a second time, that time while riding on a horse carriage in Central Park.[6]

In 2020, Evans began hosting Hot Ones: The Game Show, a trivia game show based on Hot Ones that aired on TruTV.[14]

In 2021, Mikey Day impersonated Evans in a Saturday Night Live skit where Maya Rudolph plays Beyoncé in a spoof episode of Hot Ones and ends up having a meltdown due to not being able to handle the spiciness.[15] A year later, in June 2022, Evans did a cameo as himself in an episode of Apple TV+ show Loot, where the main character, also played by Rudolph, does the Hot Ones interview and ends up having a meltdown due to not being able to handle the spiciness.

On May 25, 2021, Evans was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host at the 48th Daytime Emmy Awards.[16] He has won internet entertainment awards including the Shorty, the Lovie, and the Webby.[6] Evans has appeared on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The View.

On July 19, 2019, the Chicago native threw out the first pitch at a Cubs-Pirates game at Wrigley Field.[17]

In a 2021 interview with Esquire, Evans addressed the future of the show this way: "I do feel in some ways closer to the end of it than the beginning. We have been doing it for a long time and I'm not sure there's anything that I'm leaving on the table. Hot Ones has already done 10 laps around any expectation that I ever had for it ... So it's in a spot where I'm just doing something that I really enjoy doing. So I'm committed to Hot Ones for as long as the fans will allow it."[7]

In December 2024, First We Feast was purchased from BuzzFeed for US$82.5 million by an investment group that included Evans, Schonberger, Mythical Entertainment, Crooked Media, and Soros Fund Management.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Key & Peele Lose Their Minds Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones @ 05:21, retrieved May 5, 2023, You know that Chernobyl happened on my actual birthday, April 26, 1986.
  2. ^ "Donna Arthofer Obituary (2003) - Chicago, IL - Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. March 1, 2003. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "Crystal Lake native, U of I grad Sean Evans found success and stardom with hot wings and 'Hot Ones: The Game Show'". Chicago Tribune. August 4, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  4. ^ Evans 2017
  5. ^ Sean Evans: LinkedIn. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e Sims, Karen (March 31, 2020). "The Untold Truth Of Sean Evans From Hot Ones". Mashed. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Kranc, Lauren (April 1, 2021). "Sorry, Sean Evans Isn't Reading Your DMs". Esquire. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Harris, Jenn (October 20, 2016). "This guy eats hot wings with celebrities for a living. Seriously". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Stephen, Bijan (October 31, 2019). "Inside Hot Ones, the wildly popular and violently spicy YouTube show". The Verge.
  10. ^ a b Jarvey, Natalie (November 1, 2022). "How Hot Ones Turned Spicy Chicken Wings Into Celebrity Interview Gold". Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Singh, Ashan; Coburn; McCarthy (June 7, 2019). "How YouTube's 'Hot Ones' host Sean Evans realized hot sauce was his 'lightning in a bottle'". ABC News. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Irish Examiner 2016
  13. ^ Wanshel, Elyse (October 24, 2019). "Paul Rudd Has A Hilarious New Meme That's As Snarky As He Is". HuffPost. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  14. ^ First We Feast (April 14, 2020), Hot Ones The Game Show, retrieved April 14, 2020
  15. ^ Hot Ones with Beyoncé - SNL, retrieved April 15, 2021
  16. ^ "2021 Daytime Emmy Awards: Talk Show Host and Lead Actress Nominees Revealed (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. CBS Interactive. May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  17. ^ "Cubs kick off second half of the season with visits from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and San Diego". MLB.com. July 12, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  18. ^ Mullin, Benjamin (December 12, 2024). "BuzzFeed Strikes Deal to Sell 'Hot Ones' Company for $82.5 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2024.

Sources

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