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Netflix Bets a New ‘Hot Ones’ Show Will Keep You Watching
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By The New York Times
Published 1 hour ago on
June 22, 2026

Sean Evans, a host of the YouTube show “Hot Ones” behind the scenes in Manhattan, March 14, 2023. This YouTube talk show’s premise is simple: Disarm celebrities with deep-cut questions and scorchingly spicy wings. (Peter Fisher/The New York Times)

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Netflix is getting into the “Hot Ones” business.

The streaming giant said on Monday that it had ordered a spinoff of “Hot Ones,” the hit YouTube series hosted by Sean Evans that centers on celebrity interviews over spicy chicken wings.

The new show, “Hot Ones: Extra Heat,” will stream after occasional major live sporting events and big series or film premieres on Netflix. The first episode will debut July 13, immediately after Netflix finishes streaming MLB’s All-Star Home Run Derby.

The series pickup is the latest example of Netflix’s growing rivalry with YouTube. YouTube is the most-watched streaming service on U.S. television sets, with Netflix in second place, according to Nielsen. Over the past couple of years, Netflix has signed deals with creators who made their name on YouTube first, including children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel and science educator Mark Rober.

Evans said in an interview that many elements of the new show would feel familiar to regular viewers of “Hot Ones” and that he would continue to roll out new episodes of the flagship series weekly on YouTube. For “Hot Ones: Extra Heat,” Evans will also play host to famous people, who will eat increasingly fiery poultry. The episodes will be roughly 30 minutes.

Bigger Budget for ‘Hot Ones: Extreme Heat’

But from there, “Hot Ones: Extra Heat” has a much bigger budget and will offer more spectacle, Evans said. This includes taking the show out of its signature black-curtain studio and bringing it to a new venue. The debut episode takes place at a college baseball stadium.

“It’s a chance to present ‘Hot Ones’ in a different, big-swing kind of way, something we’ve been restrained by in our current model,” he said. “I’ve never shot an episode of ‘Hot Ones’ with drones flying overhead or with a camera that’s on a crane before.”

Netflix did not specify how many episodes of “Hot Ones: Extra Heat” there will be per year, but Evans said he was anticipating they would premiere “quarterly or something.” Episodes of the spinoff series will be exclusive to Netflix.

Netflix’s “Hot Ones: Extra Heat” series order is also reflective of how streamers are acting more like traditional broadcasters of yore. For decades, broadcast networks have programmed a high-profile entertainment show after a major sporting event like the Super Bowl to entice viewers to keep watching.

Netflix Acting More Like a Traditional Broadcaster

Netflix, which increasingly carries commercials and live sporting events such as MLB, the NFL and World Wrestling Entertainment, has been acting more and more like a traditional broadcaster in recent years. In addition to sports, Netflix has been programming other big-spectacle live events, including “Skyscraper Live,” where climber Alex Honnold scaled a 101-story tower in Taiwan.

The first episode of “Hot Ones: Extra Heat” will be an explicit promotion of a new Netflix TV show. The debut guests will be Will Ferrell, Fortune Feimster and Jimmy Tatro, who all star in the Netflix golf comedy series “The Hawk,” which will premiere three days after the Home Run Derby.

Netflix has also been ramping up its efforts to sign new unscripted interview series. Over the past few months, it has licensed dozens of video podcasts, including “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Therapuss With Jake Shane.” Additionally, it has created original shows, including one hosted by Pete Davidson and another hosted by former TV news anchor Brian Williams, whose new interview series, “We’re Back!,” premiered last week with Tom Hanks as a guest.

One of the reasons Netflix has been so aggressive in signing up podcasts is the popularity of those shows on YouTube. Evans is one of the biggest names in the digital interview series space.

“They’re the two biggest streamers by far,” Evans said of Netflix and YouTube. “It’s an amazing thing to be in both lanes.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By John Koblin/Peter Fisher

c.2026 The New York Times Company

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