Netflix Just Made a Power Move That Will Change Streaming Forever

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Published Jun 22, 2026, 5:35 PM EDT

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Netflix's original streaming shows and movies are its draw, but the platform has been increasingly turning up the heat with its other offerings. To kick off this year, the streamer moved into the podcasting space with a slate of exclusive deals and in-house shows, evolving itself as a broadcaster with a wide range of voices from Pete Davidson to Bill Simmons. 2025 also saw the introduction of Everybody's Live with John Mulaney to massive success, giving the platform a late-night sit-down talk show that was uniquely John Mulaney's. Yet, the company has long had an eye on one man and his very spicy wings — Sean Evans.

Back in 2024, Netflix approached BuzzFeed about the possibility of airing live versions of the massively popular YouTube interview series Hot Ones. Hopes were for Evans to host a series of episodes of the show with hot questions and even hotter wings exclusively for the platform, capitalizing both on Hot Ones' online success while moving further into the live streaming realm. First We Feast, the channel hosting the show, has a staggering total of over 15.5 million subscribers and has expanded into other programs like Hot Ones Versus and Hot Ones Pong that the streamer hoped to draw from. Nothing appeared to come of it in the end, and everything remained silent for some time. However, the streamer has finally reeled in their white whale.

A new spin-off series, Hot Ones: Extra Heat, has been announced to premiere exclusively on Netflix on July 13, with Evans back in the hosting chair and serving as an executive producer alongside Chris Schonberger, Sarah Honda, Aaron Cooke, and showrunner K.P. Anderson. It won't be live, but the first episode will tie into one of the streamer's new marquee live MLB events in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, premiering after the 8 p.m. ET live stream. Extra Heat will leave Evans' typical studio behind to travel to cultural moments tied to Netflix like sporting events, film and series premieres, and more for special conversations with related guests. The challenge to eat ten increasingly scorching wings remains intact, as does the thorough interview process, but it'll be broken up by special segments tied to the event and perhaps featuring a special appearance or two along the way.

Evans has had his fair share of massive guests go through the wringer so far, from Shaquille O'Neal to Gordon Ramsay, and, most recently, Jesse Eisenberg. First to take on the wings of death in this new format, however, will be Will Ferrell, Fortune Feimster, and Jimmy Tatro, aka the cast of the upcoming golf dramedy series The Hawk. A first look teases the trio stepping onto the field and sets the stage for Ferrell's rematch with Da Bomb, The Last Dab, and more after previously running the gauntlet in 2020 and once again in 2022 for a Hot Ones holiday special. Evans is all for the increase in production and spectacle for Extra Heat, sharing an official statement hyping the new show as an extension of what made his talk show a runaway success while reaching new heights.

"As a student of the late-night genre, I’m obsessed with the art of the interview and believe that these conversations warrant a level of scale and spectacle that sometimes can’t be contained by a studio. It’s exciting to partner with Netflix to continue to break new ground with the format, while keeping the core of what fans love about Hot Ones firmly intact.”

Hot Ones: Extra Heat premieres on July 13 after the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Get a first look in the gallery above.