Chicken wings are not the only thing getting progressively "hotter" in 2026: Sean Evans, the host of the viral YouTube series Hot Ones, has a few exciting things in store as well.

The 29th season of Hot Ones premiered in January, and Evans has already interviewed celebrities such as MrBeast, Daniel Radcliffe, Teyana Taylor, and Charlie Puth. Evans has also been announced as the commencement speaker for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he will deliver remarks to the graduating class on May 16. Evans graduated from the university with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2008, which certainly came in handy on Hot Ones.

Evans started the show with Chris Schonberger in March 2015. He’s interviewed dozens of celebrities within the past decade, ranging from musicians, actors, scientists, comedians, public figures, and more.

There’s just something about watching our favorite celebrities down wings while succumbing to increasing degrees of spiciness. I mean, where else would we see Gordon Ramsay down a whole bottle of Pepto-Bismol, or Jennifer Lawrence crying in disbelief? However, the success of Hot Ones is also in part to Evans’s thoughtful interview style – he's known for asking personal, specific questions that took hours of research on the celebrity in question, leaving many celebrities shocked and sometimes speechless.

For example, he once asked Lady Gaga about her high school band, Mackin Pulsifer, and he asked Sydney Sweeney about her favorite extracurricular (robotics team, or the academic club “Math is Cool”). One notable guest is Keke Palmer, known for her viral “this one has a little sweetness to it” reaction back in 2021. Evans recently admitted he had a celebrity crush on Palmer, and the two even shared a kiss during an episode in September 2025.

Hot Ones is co-produced by First We Feast, an online magazine also started by Evans and Schonberger. First We Feast has 15.3 million subscribers on YouTube, with several videos garnering over a million views each.

As if irresistible celebrity interviews weren’t enough for the public, Hot Ones also lists hot sauces from its lineup for sale on its website. Evans may have cracked the code on this one, and we can’t wait to see who else he has on the hot seat this season.

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