Sean Evans Swaps Seats with Matt Belloni at Hot Ones FYC Event

On Tuesday, Hot Ones host Sean Evans left his interview chair to sit in the wing-eating seat at a FYC event at Avalon. Matt Belloni of Puck, host of The Ringer’s podcast The Town, took Evans’s place at the interview table and grilled him while they sampled a menu of chicken wings, half the usual ten-wing gauntlet. Belloni hiccuped and, after a Da Bomb-coated wing, exclaimed, “Holy shit… This is not enjoyable.” The audience of Television Academy voters reacted to the role reversal.

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Hot Ones is a YouTube interview series that pairs celebrity conversations with hotter wing sauces. Its “10-wing gauntlet” is meant to draw candid moments as guests endure increasing heat. Over the past ten years the show has produced 28 seasons and a decade of viral episodes.

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Sean Evans, a Chicago native, created and hosts Hot Ones. He has spoken about his interests in architecture, baseball cards, city skylines, and believes in Bigfoot. Matt Belloni, a partner at Puck and host of The Town, served as interview-table interlocutor for the event.

Hollywood Reporter

The show has 28 seasons, a ten-year run, a 10-wing gauntlet (five wings used at the event), and publicists regularly appear after previously being viewed as adversaries.

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Evans said early interactions with publicists were confrontational, but relationships have improved and many welcome their clients on the program. He suggested the format could host a presidential debate and announced a traditional interview series under his own name, calling it a return to “the oldest construct in the history of media.” He reaffirmed his commitment to the Hot Ones team, saying he would not trade his Hollywood position for any other role.

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• “Holy shit,” — Matt Belloni, Partner, Puck

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• “This is not enjoyable.” — Matt Belloni, Partner, Puck

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• “I want to do a debate,” — Sean Evans, Host, Hot Ones

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• “I want the official presidential debate to be a Hot Ones.” — Sean Evans, Host, Hot Ones

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• “Honestly, now it has gotten to a point where publicists are so nice to us,” — Sean Evans, Host

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• “Sometimes people ask me like, ‘Oh, what’s next for you? What’s the show after this?’ Or, ‘How are you going to duplicate the magic of Hot Ones?’ I always tell people, ‘My next show is going to be called just an interview show with Sean.’ We’re just going to do it the old fashioned way, sit and talk like we used to do. There is this [thinking] that we need celebrity plus high concept in order for anybody to pay attention but I don’t think that’s true. The interview’s the oldest construct in the history of media. If you can do it well, you’ll have a job in this town.” — Sean Evans

Hollywood Reporter

The seat-swap gave industry insiders a rare view of how wing-induced discomfort can draw candid responses and highlighted the evolving rapport between media producers and publicists. Evans’s move toward a conventional interview format and his interest in hosting events such as the Oscars or a World Series first pitch indicate an expansion of his presence beyond the platform.

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