February 22, 2024
First We Feast/YouTube
Quinta Brunson struggles through spicy hot wings while answering hard-hitting questions on the latest episode of the 'Hot Ones' talk show.
Quinta Brunson has taken on plenty of challenges in her illustrious career, including creating and starring in "Abbott Elementary," but the West Philly native just may have taken on her toughest task: eating spicy wings while answering hard-hitting questions.
Brunson appeared Thursday in the latest episode of "Hot Ones," the "First We Feast" talk show in which celebs chow down on progressively spicier wings while answering questions posed by host Sean Evans. Brunson struggled — albeit rather stoically — through the "wings of death" while providing insight on her ABC sitcom and her comedy career thus far.
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Before Brunson and Evans even dug into the hot wings, Brunson expressed her distaste for spicy foods. Apparently, "Hot Ones" had tried to book Brunson as a guest a few years ago, before she skyrocketed to fame through "Abbott Elementary," but Brunson's team declined. She was too afraid of the hot wings, they said.
"I've never even watched the show, I'm so scared of the show," Brunson joked to Evans.
While enjoying the first few wings, Brunson praised the acting chops of Zack Fox — who plays her deadbeat boyfriend-turned educational rapper on "Abbott" — and discussed the workplaces that work best for sitcoms (she said she's been trying to crack a TSA-based comedy for years). She also recalled being stopped on the street by a "passionate" mailman, who told her that "Abbott Elementary" could really use a mailman character.
"He gave me a note and I took that to heart," Brunson said. "I was like, I might put a postman on the show."
The pair then discussed why shorter episodes work well for TV shows. Including commercials, "Abbott Elementary" takes up a 30-minute slot on Wednesday evenings, aside from the special hour-long Season 3 premiere.
"You don't have to take your shoes off, but come on in, have a chat with your old friend, just come in and sit but you don't have to stay too long," Brunson said of short TV episodes. "And I think that's the beauty of short television ... and it doesn't take up your emotional energy, I think that's important too. Some of my favorite shows emotionally drain me, but my favorite comedies don't do that."
After powering through the first few wings, Brunson gained some confidence in her spice tolerance.
"I'm kinda eating this so far ... literally and figuratively," she said, later adding: "I'm proud of myself."
NEW #HotOnes episode with Quinta Brunson 🔥 Find out if she made it through the wings of death NOW 👀 https://t.co/NDNH4aWLzv pic.twitter.com/l6p9kafIJH
— First We Feast (@firstwefeast) February 22, 2024
She even conceptualized an idea for her own food-based interview show, "Cold Ones," swapping out hot wings for ice cream. Her jovial mood was quickly shattered with the fifth wing in the line up, which was dressed with the Queso Sin Queso sauce. Evans asked about Brunson's experience hosting "Saturday Night Live" for the first time last year, but the hot sauce was messing with her head.
"My mouth is hot; let me focus," she told him before describing an "intense experience" that involved writing and re-writing her monologue for days leading up to the show.
Evans asked Brunson to use her "Spidey Sense" to hypothesize where the next generation of TV showrunners will come from. She explained that while there are many up-and-coming video creators on platforms like TikTok, there is still a certain amount of hard work and education that needs to go into making TV.
"I think there's, like, talent and then I see the people who are able to create worlds and to deliver things on a schedule and once again it requires education," said Brunson, who earlier described her experience studying improv at Chicago's Second City theater. "I know even when I started and knew that I wanted to be a creative showrunner, I got some books, I did some reading, I saw how it was done in the past, I saw how things were changing. ... For some reason, sometimes people think they don't have to educate themselves about entertainment and that is sad to me."
Brunson took a quick break to drink from a glass of milk, in hopes that it would cool down her fiery taste buds.
"I haven't had milk since I was a baby," she exclaimed. "This is crazy right now!"
The conversation turned to Brunson's on-screen character, second grade teacher Janine Teagues, who has evolved in multiple ways since the show debuted. In particular, Evans asked how Janine's wardrobe reflects the changes the character has gone through.
"When the show first started, a lot of people were like, oh my God, the budget is so bad, Janine's hair looks so bad," Brunson said. "It's like, it looks bad on purpose. She's a girl who doesn't quite know what to do with her hair and wardrobe yet but she's proud of herself regardless, and that's what I wanted people to take away. ...
"Everybody's not, you know, perfect or knows how to do it all. Janine's a character now who has started to watch some YouTube videos and she was like, 'that's how I maintain my curls,' and then she went, 'maybe not that shirt with that skirt.' That's fun; it's a way for us to show her brain on the outside of her head, and it's important to really have those things for all characters, but especially, like, the young Black girl character as well."
Following that eloquent response, Brunson took a too-big bite of a wing covered in the infamously hot Da Bomb Beyond Insanity sauce and was forced to chug her glass of milk.
"Oh my God, it's still fighting," she cried. "I don't know why people like that!"
Despite her outcry, Evans praised Brunson's overall composure and "lock-it-in kind of energy" through the "wings of death."
"You don't do this job unless you have good composure," Brunson replied, referring to her career in entertainment.
While Brunson's brain "flash fries in hot sauce," Evans asked for her take on several classic sitcoms. She praised the likes of "Martin," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Parks and Recreation" and "The Jeffersons." She showed a special appreciation for a certain '90s sitcom set in Philly, the same city where "Abbott" is set.
"'Boy Meets World' — great, in Philadelphia," Brunson said. "Mr. Feeney: a legend. An interesting cast, one of the first interracial couples on our TV screens that we just allowed in every day. ... Topanga! that's fun, a fun name."
As Brunson continued choking on hot sauce, Evans praised Brunson's wing-eating technique — in which she allowed the hot sauce to hit the back of her throat — and said he might have to "steal" it for future episodes.
"You gotta take it like a shot," she joked, before the spiciness began hitting again. "It's coming back to fight! I threw it to the back! It's like venom in my mouth, how it takes over."
After telling Evans a "cool fun fact" about how "Abbott Elementary" was shot at the same soundstage as "The Goonies" and describing some of her favorite memes, Brunson succeeded at taking down the "wings of death." But, not before she described the unpleasant spiciness of each of the hot wings mingling together and rising up her throat.
"All the wings have now formed a union," she said, later adding: "I can't believe I got through this!"
"Abbott Elementary" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Watch the full "Hot Ones" episode featuring Brunson below:
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