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LOS ANGELES – November 1, 2019 – truTV is bringing the heat with its fiery new series, Hot Ones: The Game Show, based on the wildly successful web talk series created and produced by Complex Networks’ brand, First We Feast. Host Sean Evans will dare contestants to put their money where their mouth is and enter the “Pepperdome,” to compete for $25,000 in a battle of wits and gastro-intestinal fortitude. Hot Ones: The Game Show will air on truTV as part of a Hot Ones hour each week, with one episode of the game show followed by one episode of the original First We Feast digital talk show, also hosted by Evans. truTV has licensed episodes of the massively popular series featuring A-list celebrities that became a phenomenon with more than a billion views over its 10 seasons.
In each episode of Hot Ones: The Game Show, two teams of two face three rounds, banking as much cash as they can to compete for the grand prize. Contestants will be quizzed on pop-culture trivia while chowing down on wings slathered in sauces meant to bring on the sweat. The teams will have their mental and visual skills tested through all three rounds as the burn sets in and the contestants become completely disoriented.
The team with the most cash at the end of all three rounds moves on to the finale, The Ring of Fire. Five flaming rings stand between the teammates and the cash, and they must work together to solve a password game, with each successful clue extinguishing another ring of flames as they get closer and closer to the money—and the antidote for their burning mouths. If the teammates fight through the pain and guess five correct passwords in 90 seconds, they’ll win $25,000 in cash and claim their places as Hot Ones legends!
“Fans around the world have tried creating their own versions of the Hot Ones challenge for years, but there’s nothing better than the real thing,” said Brett Weitz, general manager TBS, TNT, and truTV. “We’re going to up the stakes, and take this show to a whole new level of heat.”
"Our Hot Ones interview show is all about deconstructing celebrities and making them seem like normal people,” said Sean Evans, Host of Hot Ones and Hot Ones: The Game Show. “With Hot Ones: The Game Show, we're excited to flip the script and give everyday people the chance to achieve hot sauce glory."
"With Hot Ones, we were able to redefine the celebrity interview with the addition of violently hot chicken wings,” said Chris Schonberger, General Manager of First We Feast. “Now, we're excited to team up with the pros at truTV and DIGA to create a great game show format, supercharged with the spice and offbeat sensibility of the original series."
“As a longtime fan of Hot Ones, I was thrilled to get to work with Complex and the great team at Warner Media, including my friend and colleague Michael Bloom, to bring this next evolution of the concept to truTV,” said Tony DiSanto, Executive Producer and President of DIGA Studios. “It combines raucous and hilarious gameplay with the core DNA of over-the-top spectacle that made the original Hot Ones such a cultural phenomenon. We love to adapt unique IP across a variety of genres including Game, which is a rapidly growing part of our slate, so this is right on target for us…yet sadly, I wouldn’t last three seconds in this game!”
truTV has ordered 20 episodes of the half-hour series, which goes into production later this fall with a premiere date planned for early next year.
Hot Ones: The Game Show is produced by DIGA Studios. Scott St. John is the showrunner and executive producer, with DIGA’s Tony DiSanto, Tommy Coriale and Nick Rigg executive producing as well. Michael Bloom also serves as executive producer for Bongo Productions while Chris Schonberger and Justin Killion serve as executive producers for Complex Networks.
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About truTV
truTV is the home for original, creator-driven comedy series with a distinct point of view. With millions of engaged fans across linear, digital and social channels, the cable network features a growing roster of critically acclaimed and fan-favorite premium scripted, non-scripted and hybrid series, such as Adam Ruins Everything, At Home with Amy Sedaris, I’m Sorry, Impractical Jokers, Paid Off with Michael Torpey, Tacoma FD, The Carbonaro Effect, and more. As a division of WarnerMedia, truTV is also a partner in airing the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship each year.
About WarnerMedia
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, truTV and others. WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).
About First We Feast’s Hot Ones
Founded in 2012, First We Feast views food as an illuminating lens into pop culture, music, travel and more through its innovative slate of food-driven video franchises. Its flagship series “Hot Ones,” the show with hot questions and even hotter wings, averages over 4 million views per episode, has grown the channel to 7.4 million subscribers and over 1.1 billion views to date. “Hot Ones” won the 2018 Shorty Award for Best Web Series, the 2019 Webby Award for Food & Drink, and host Sean Evans won the 2018 and 2019 Webby Award for Best Web Personality/Host.
About Complex Networks
Complex Networks, formed from the acquisition of Complex Media Inc. through a joint venture by Verizon and Hearst, is a global lifestyle brand and media company and one of the most influential voices in popular culture today. Complex Networks’ digital channels, which include Complex, First We Feast, Pigeons & Planes, Sole Collector and more, is a Top 10 publisher in the U.S. for social engagement on channels like Facebook and YouTube. A diversified and profitable media business with premium distribution partners such as Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV, Roku, and iFlix, Complex Networks’ original content exemplifies convergence culture, exploring topics that span across popular culture from music to movies, sports to video games, fashion to food.
Complex Networks develops and distributes original programming for its channels and through output deals with premium distributors. The company cultivates content that spans across popular culture from music to movies, sports to video games, fashion to food, reaching the coveted 18-24-year-old male audience. In 2016, the company launched ComplexCon in Long Beach, California, to bring the “Internet to life.” The annual event attracts over 200 culture-shifting brands and over 60,000 digitally savvy attendees to the two-day cultural festival.
About DIGA Studios
DIGA Studios is a next-gen content studio committed to great storytelling across formats, genres and platforms. Founded by former MTV President Tony DiSanto and staffed with a deep bench of industry innovators, DIGA productions are marked by a rebellious and sometimes subversive pop sensibility that resonates with youthful audiences worldwide. Past hits include Teen Wolf & Scream while current productions run the gamut from lifestyle programs to gameshows to scripted horror formats, including “50 States of Terror”, executive produced by Sam Raimi for Jeffrey Katzenberg’s QUIBI. DIGA Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLYANCE Media Group, with more information available at www.digastudios.com. |
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