Few content creators have cracked virality quite like Sean Evans, host of First We Feast’s Hot Ones.
The format sees celebrity guests eat chicken wings with progressively spicier hot sauces whilst answering in-depth questions about their lives and careers.
In a similar fashion to gonzo music journalist Nardwuar, many of the questions are so obscure and personal that guests can be taken aback by his thorough research.
It’s one of the most popular shows on YouTube, amassing billions of views over its run and spawning no end of iconic episodes and accompanying memes.
Shaquille O’Neal, bravely proclaiming that we wouldn’t see the wings affecting him, eventually succumbed to the spice and rendered a classic meme.
Conan O’Brien, meanwhile, recently delivered perhaps the most unhinged Hot Ones performance yet.
The former writer on The Simpsons, beloved former late night host and current podcast extraordinaire flung himself in at the deep end, slathering himself in hot sauce, pocketing bones, and taking ‘medical advice’ from the spurious ‘Dr Arroyo’. It’s a feast for the eyes.
There’s a lot of speculation over how the producers fashion the masterful show. Guests surely aren’t too challenging to come by thanks to its enormous profile, but arranging the sauces, having waivers signed, and prepping Evans will all the essentials can’t be easy.
Speaking to The Takeout, Chris Schonberger, CEO of First We Feast and creator of Hot Ones, recently lifted the lid on some of the show’s secrets, including the ‘one rule’ the show follows when it comes to upping the ante with each hot sauce.
"The sauces increase in Scoville units (a measurement of heat) as the line-up progresses," said Schonberger.
"The only rule is that the next wing should be hotter than the last in terms of Scoville units. But every sauce and every pepper hits people differently, so it's more about creating a symphony of flavors and spice that takes the guest on a journey."
It’s often interesting to see guests progress through the wings, sometimes noting that subsequent sauces were less challenging for them than earlier ones, but it’s hard to gauge how accurately they’re feeling each sauce when the capsaicin is already burning their tongues and throats while their eyes are streaming.
One sauce, Da Bomb Beyond Insanity, is typically the great leveller. At 135,600 Scoville Units it isn’t anywhere near the hottest sauce on the roster, but it’s been described by many guests as being little more than an endurance test with little to no flavours worth savouring.
"Every guest is different — they might slam some ice cream, sprint out the studio, or decompress in the green room," Schonberger continued.
"More often than not, there's an endorphin rush that comes from the spice and completing the challenge, and guests often want to force people who they brought with them — their publicist, their stylist, their family, etc — to try the hottest wings on the table."
Season 27’s hot sauces start at 1,400 Scoville Units, with the tenth and final, The Last Dab Xperience, hitting a literally eye-watering 2,693,000.
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of getting famous enough to be put to the test?
Featured Image Credit: Araya Doheny / Stringer/Getty ImagesTopics: Social Media, Celebrity
Rachael Davis