It’s the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. That’s right, Hot Ones, the interview-based show where host, Sean Evans, speaks to some of the world’s biggest celebrities about a range of topics while they struggle to cope with some of the hottest sauces on earth.
The show has grown into something that is now a must-watch for many people, totally changing the way celebrities do their usual PR shills. Here, the celebrities are put in a vulnerable position due to the heat of the sauce, which leads to some hilarious moments and really opens up the conversation to be far more honest than usual.
Fans get to see a totally different side to their favorite musicians and actors, with a variety of guests covering many genres, the show has something for everyone.
The show has brought in some of the biggest names across the movie and music industry and some amazing episodes have continued to be created. So, with all that said and done that only leaves us to say, this camera, that camera, or that camera, let’s tell the world about the greatest episodes in Hot Ones history.
Ricky Gervais
We kickstart this list with Ricky Gervais, and as expected this is a non-stop laugh from the start to the finish, with Gervais being on fine form here.
This interview had the perfect balance of serious conversation, from Gervais’ love of animals and all things nature to breaking down political correctness and people being easily offended, while also having hilarious moments of the comedian running down people who moan at him on Twitter.
However, as with any great episode, it is all about how they handle the heat and Gervais struggles, with his reactions being absolutely fantastic. Sadly, he does find himself in the Hall of Shame as he fails to complete the whole set of wings, and that is why he can’t climb any higher on this list.
Billie Eilish
Hot Ones really has brought in some huge names throughout its history, and one of the biggest to be part of the show is Billie Eilish. She’s one of the biggest names in the music industry right now, but during her interview she showed how she’s just a normal person, like anyone else.
That’s something that Hot Ones is great at, bringing celebrities down to a normal level that makes them more relatable. Eilish smashed through the wings and brought her own unique style to the show, which created a very fun and insightful episode.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Over the course of Hot Ones, the show has had several wrestlers appear on the show, but they weren’t messing around when they brought in one of the biggest wrestling stars of all time in Stone Cold Steve Austin for the season nine finale.
Austin was certainly a memorable guest, breaking down the wrestling industry in a fun yet informative manner, while also controlling his heart rate throughout the entire process, which is something that no guest has ever done before, with Austin barely breaking a sweat.
Scarlett Johansson
Hot Ones brought in Scarlett Johansson at the perfect time as she was promoting Avengers: End Game, which meant the shoe was able to push for spoilers in the most hilarious manner. While every interview with the MCU actors was pushing for nuggets of information where they could, none of them were pushing them to the limit with hot sauce.
Of course, she gave nothing away but that didn’t stop it being a great episode. Scarlett handled the heat really well, even though it did become challenge later on. She went into detail discussing her career to that point in what is another very funny episode of the show.
Tenacious D
Any time you have more than one guest on Hot Ones things can become difficult, as Sean Evans isn’t able to give the same undivided attention to the celebrity as he does during the normal one-on-ones, but when rock band Tenacious D plugged their new album, it was a rare example of how it can be done right.
While Jack Black is the dominating personality in the band anyway, Sean does a great job of keeping things on track and giving just as much attention to Kyle Gass, weaving through the incredible history of the band as the three broke it down and truly reached for the pick of destiny.
Steve-O
Who doesn’t love Steve-O? The Jackass star is beloved by everyone and considering he is well-known for doing absolutely ridiculous things, it’s no surprise he signed up to be on Hot Ones. His interview is brilliant though as it does highlight the other side of Steve-O’s personality.
While people just see the crazy side of him on Jackass, the fact is that Steve-0 is very intelligent and thought provoking. During this interview fans get to see that side of his personality, of course mixed in with them talking about the ridiculous stunts he has done over his career.
Paul Rudd
This is actually the most recent episode to have been uploaded on the show (at the time of writing), and the fact it already ranks this high proves just how fun the episode is, with legendary actor Paul Rudd providing some incredible moments that are absolutely hilarious.
Rudd pushes through all the wings (that are technically cauliflowers in this episode) while being a hilarious guest at the same time, clearly enjoying the experience, from ranking classic British biscuits to a historic last dab that is going to be difficult to top anytime soon.
Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie kicked off the latest season of Hot Ones with an absolutely hilarious episode as she promoted her new Harley Quinn movie. From the very first wing it was clear that it was going to be a struggle for her, as the heat clearly began to cause issues.
While it’s not normally fun to see others suffer, when it comes to Hot Ones it certainly is. Margot Robbie struggled all the way through the interview, but she remained a great guest. She tried to answer every question and battled with the heat, bringing some of the funniest moments in Hot Ones history.
Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell comes out of the gate strong from the start of her Hot Ones episode, making it clear that she loves hot food, and whenever a guest does that everyone is immediately waiting for the fall, but the popular actress does a fantastic job at backing up her confidence.
However, that doesn’t mean she just breezes through as Bell certainly has her troubles, but it is the fascinating interview that makes this episode so much fun, proving once again why she is one of the most likeable people in Hollywood right now.
Eric Andre
Next up on the list is the episode featuring Eric Andre, which is one of the most insane episodes in the history of Hot Ones, taking place in the second season of the show, the comedian and actor set a very high bar for other guests to try and get close to.
To sum up how mad this episode is, the finale sees Andre eating the last wing, singing Hulk Hogan’s theme song and smashing a plate over his head to a stunned reaction within the studio, which is arguably funnier than the action itself. This is pure craziness and is one any Hot Ones fan needs to see.
Shia LaBeouf
This is another very new episode of Hot Ones, taking place in the current season, but this is easily one of the best episodes they have created, with Shia LaBeouf wasting little time in setting the bar for his episode by doing the last dab on every single wing he eats.
Many people have a certain preconceived opinion of Shia LaBeouf because of how he is portrayed online, however, within this episode he carries himself as an incredibly personable individual and he ends up forming quite the bromance with Sean during the episode.
However, while it is emotional and interesting, the episode is also very funny, which is the key to any good Hot Ones episode, with tears literally streaming down his face at one point.
Idris Elba
Idris Elba might often play the hardman in his movies, but when it came to tackling the hottest sauces possible, even the Englishman struggled a little. The hot sauces seemed to only fire him up as he was ready for a fight in a hilarious way, calling out people from behind the camera.
The entire episode is absolutely hilarious with Idris showing why he’s one of the most popular actors around. Idris brings all of his charisma, as expected in what is a funny interview that is also very insightful and full of education as he shows just how knowledgeable he is about certain topics.
Key & Peele
Earlier we mentioned how having two guests at once isn’t always the best combination for an episode of Hot Ones, but one of the best episodes ever saw Key and Peele come together in season two, which has gone down as one of the most defining episodes in the history of the show.
Key and Peele just bounce off of each other with an electric personality, bringing out their own slang and catchphrases which have to be explained throughout, keeping the pace of this episode incredibly high from the very start.
Their reaction to the famous Da Bomb sauce is one of the greatest in the history of the show and while this interview took place in the earlier moments of the show’s history, that doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the best.
Gordon Ramsay
This was the name that everyone wanted to see on the show once it started gaining some traction and in the season eight opening episode it finally happened. Arguably the most popular chef in the world, Gordon Ramsay is well known for his fiery temper and foul mouth, which set the bar high for this episode.
Sean Evans addressed that the pressure was high during the episode, but thankfully they absolutely knocked it out of the park, creating one of the most memorable episodes in Hot Ones history, with Ramsay being at his absolute best, struggling with the heat and complaining about the quality of the chicken wings themselves.
Ramsay, ever the professional, came to the show with an arsenal of items to attack the heat which led to some hilarious moments with the chef squirting lemon juice into his mouth while tucking into doughnuts and anything else he could get his hands on in a truly hilarious episode.
Russell Brand
So here we are, it’s time for the last dab and the pinnacle of this journey into hot sauce greatness, and the very best guest on Hot Ones (so far), which is none other than Russell Brand, who was amazing on the show.
Brand is well known for being both controversial in his comments and equally very intelligent and articulate, and this interview highlights both of those incredibly well, looking at his career with Brand telling some fantastic stories along the way.
However, while all of that is great, the real reason that Russell Brand takes home the gold for being the greatest episode of Hot Ones is because of the incredible song that he pulls out on the cuff. From shouting out Brett the list-maker and Hot Ones superfan to rhyming with the hot sauces themselves, this is the single greatest, most random moment of the show and it is genius.
