"Hot Ones," the show with hot questions and even hotter wings, has set a new record for its earliest live interview ever as host Sean Evans enlisted "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts to push her palate to tolerate a new level of heat before 9 a.m.
"You're setting a record today," Evans said of the condensed three-wing version of his hit First We Feast show on YouTube. "I hope it does not turn into a nightmare as we do this very steep ramp up -- and here we are without a safety net, the first time for that."
Everyone from Shaquille O'Neal to Idris Elba, Paul Rudd, Jennifer Lawrence, Cardi B, Sabrina Carpenter, and, most recently, David Beckham have opened up to Evans over plates of hot wings in the taped iterations of the interview series, which Evans said "disrupts the formality of the whole thing."
"You kind of forget you're on a show, that there are cameras pointed at you when you're kind of just fighting for survival on the show," he said.
In 10 years of hosting the hit series -- which famously saw DJ Khaled tap out after just three wings in season 1 or Conan O'Brien swig straight from the bottle -- Evans said, "The people we've had on the show, I'm constantly just humbled by."
"Now I feel like there's no one that is unattainable," he said heading into season 25. "But I always like to win for the fans. Keanu Reeves is probably the most requested guest that we haven't had on the show yet," he said, adding this is a far cry from the early days when "we basically had to trick people" to join the show.
Roberts took a seat at the iconic round table with a pressed black table cloth, red napkins and wooden serving board and was presented three wings tossed in sauces from Heatonist -- the official hot sauce partner of "Hot Ones" -- and of course, a pitcher of ice water, glass of milk and a bowl of ice cream to tame the potential pepper repercussions.
They started with an approachable wing one, The Classic, a garlic and Fresno chili sauce, while Evans asked Roberts which of her early jobs -- which include working as a school bus driver and a country music radio DJ -- she remembered most fondly.
"I loved both of them," she began. "Being a school bus driver, the responsibility of doing that was really very special."
"But, the DJ," she continued, pausing to cough after taking a big first bite of the hot wing. "I loved being a DJ."
She then recited her WFPR14 sign-on.
As Roberts took a big bite of the second wing, which was doused in Los Calientes Barbacoa, a level 4 out of 10 on the Scoville heat scale, Evans asked about her "advice for those who believe they can never be morning people."
"This is waking me up," she joked, reaching for the glass of milk.
She continued, "You've got to change the way you think -- I'm a sports person, I was very nocturnal. But there is something about the morning -- if you just focus on that, you really just have to change the way you think. And blackout shades. Sleep is very, very important."
As they reached the end of the gauntlet with the infamous The Last Dab Xperience -- the hottest sauce on "Hot Ones" made with the Guinness World Records-confirmed hottest pepper, Pepper X -- Roberts added an extra dab to the final drumette and waved her red napkin as she took the last bite.
"The good news is, you made it all the way through," Evans said.
He then asked his final question: "I know that you live by the wisdom passed down from your mother. I'm curious, is there a piece of advice, wisdom, a saying you think she'd say to you now, as your brain slow roasts in hot sauce on live TV?"
"I'm coming to see you mama," she said, pointing to the heavens as her eyes welled as a result of the heat. "She said to me, 'When you strut, you stumble. Never get too big for your britches. And that's something she always taught me."