{"id":1236600511,"date":"2025-12-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/variety.com\/?p=1236600511"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:27:13","slug":"house-guest-scott-evans-kamala-harris-talk-show-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/digital\/features\/house-guest-scott-evans-kamala-harris-talk-show-future-1236600511\/","title":{"rendered":"‘House Guest’ Creator Scott Evans on How an At-Home Talk Show Evolved Into Something Profound: ‘What We’re Doing is Industry Shifting’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200b\u200b\u201cWhat\u2019s up, neighbors?\u201d are Scott Evans’ famous first words to over 200,000 of his YouTube subscribers that he welcomes into his home every other Friday on his digital talk show, “House Guest.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tFrom political figures such as Kamala Harris to beloved entertainers like Keke Palmer, Evans has invited a bevy of celebrities and notable names for a backyard hangout filled with lively games, food, drinks and, most importantly, honest conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tNow, Evans is taking his dynamic show on a multi-city tour with stops in Atlanta, New York and Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tTaking \u201cHouse Guest\u201d in front of a live audience lets Evans connect with his fanbase, who aren\u2019t shy about filling his comment sections with requests for an invite to Evans\u2019 backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cI can’t wait to pull up on all our neighbors out there! The calls, DM\u2019s and comments made this tour happen, and we are about to get it together,” he tells Variety<\/em>. “We are so thankful for the love and support for this community. We have laughed, cried, enjoyed some good eats and have lifted each other up. We have a special guest on each stop plus other surprises.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe talk show host announced his newest endeavor during his latest holiday episode of \u201cHouse Party,” which featured Niecy Nash-Betts, Karrueche Tran, Jay Pharoah and Kevin Fredericks (also known as KevOnStage). “House Party\u201d is the nighttime version of the daytime talk show that invites multiple guests, extra game elements and more mature conversations that are only suitable for late-night television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Ryan Handford<\/em><\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200bEvans, who is also the long-standing host of “Access Hollywood,” launched \u201cHouse Guest,\u201d in June 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tTaking inspiration from other talk show hosts like Arsenio Hall, Oprah Winfrey, Ina Garten and Martha Stewart, Evans initially created \u201cHouse Guest\u201d to practice the format and create a platform centered on amplifying the voices of Black and brown entertainers who don\u2019t receive as much recognition for their contributions to the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cWe started \u2018House Guest\u2019 as a means for me to practice and take control of the narrative of what we do and create in this industry,\u201d Evans says. \u201cThen it became this safe place for people to come as themselves, be loved and in some ways challenged but comforted in what feels like a really kind of scary ass time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200bAfter pitching other shows that stalled with NBCUniversal, the constant rejections and uncertainty pushed him to step out on his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200b\u200b\u201cIt got to a point where I started saying, \u2018If you’re not interested in this, you don\u2019t have to take a meeting. We don\u2019t have to waste our time building meeting materials if this isn\u2019t something you\u2019re looking for,'” he explains. “We got tired and decided to develop and use those resources to develop something that we wanted to do \u2014 not what we thought a network would pick up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200bSo he began throwing concepts at the wall to see what would resonate with his built-in audience, which now consists of more than 450,000 followers on Instagram and even more across his socials. From shooting digital skits and covering events to podcasting, \u201cHouse Guest\u201d eventually became the one side gig that stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Ryan Handford<\/em><\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200b\u200bAnd the show has had a lot to celebrate since its launch. Back in April, \u201cHouse Guest\u201d won a Webby Award<\/a>. In October, the digital series was placed on Spotify\u2019s RADAR Creators Global Class <\/a>of 2025 and, most recently, its Favorite Video Podcast<\/a> of 2025. Evans has also been featured on prominent recognition lists such as Ebony Power 100<\/a> and The Root 100<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tEvans has hosted notable names like Cynthia Erivo, Regina King, Tina Knowles, Leslie Jones, Chloe Bailey and more, leveraging his pre-existing relationships to book his guests. What started out as Evans’ reaching out to talent himself has turned into a small team that handles the logistics.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tNow, the roles have reversed, with talent inviting themselves into Evans’ home. “\u200bIt was turning into people being like, ‘When am I coming over to the house?'” he laughs. \u201cIt’s been a beautiful experience to see people rally around the show in ways where they utilize their resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u200bOne person in particular that Evans didn\u2019t expect to receive a phone call from, but has turned out to be his biggest interviewee to date, was the former vice president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201c[Harris\u2019 team] said, \u2018She watches the show. She wants to come on,\u2019” Evans recalls. “I was like, \u2018What do you mean she watches the show?\u2019 It was a bizarre experience to get that phone call that someone close to the White House wants to know if you’re available this weekend for an interview.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cHouse Guest\u201d was Harris’ first stop on the press tour for her latest memoir, \u201c107 Days.\u201d The former vice president swung by Evans’ home to dive into parts of her new book, her presidential bid and what\u2019s next for her since leaving Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAnd like many of Evans\u2019 guests, Harris didn\u2019t show up empty handed, arriving with a personalized candle (which Evans says he\u2019s never burning; it’s a keepsake) and a bag of her favorite chips (nacho cheese Doritos) for Evans\u2019 famous chip drawer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Ryan Handford<\/em><\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cIt was a wild experience,\u201d he says. “When she left, I stood in the backyard thinking, \u2018What is your life?\u2019 People are seeking out my home because they believe it to be a safe place for them to tell their story, share themselves and be in community with the people who watch the show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tA small but mighty production comprised of a two-camera crew, \u201cHouse Guest\u201d is primarily funded by Evans. He has some help from brand sponsorships, like Ancestry and Red Bull, who recently entered the picture, but the talk show host doesn\u2019t get caught up with production costs. He views his passion project as a current investment for his future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cIt’s an expensive show,\u201d he shares. “The idea now is to partner with someone to help us do more of what we want to be doing, but better and faster. And we’re not partnering with any brand for the sake of brand dollars.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tHe added, \u201cI’ve been very fortunate and have worked hard to be in a position to fund the show, so I don’t have<\/em> to partner with anybody truly. But the people we do partner with understand what we’re doing, are proponents for it and not trying to only serve their product or their mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cHouse Guest\u201d has the core elements of a talk show with special guests, various segments and lively discussions. Serving as an extension of Evans’ day job on “Access Hollywood,” which requires long hours, frequent travel and back-to-back red carpets, makes finding a balance to do both difficult, but he finds a way to make it work with his tight schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cThere is something to believing and trusting that you can do it all,\u201d he says. \u201cIt has been rewarding and challenging, but it’s the kind of challenge I’m ready for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWhile many recognize him from the syndicated program on NBC, Evans is ushering a new wave of viewers with \u201cHouse Guest,\u201d which is an element that he didn’t anticipate at first and is still getting used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cThe initial goal was to just put it out,\u201d he explains. \u201cI didn’t care if people were going to respond to it because I didn’t think people were going to see it. I thought it was going to be one of those things that kind of flew under the radar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tHe continues, \u201cThere are shows that have been doing episodes for 10 years, and then two years ago they start to pop. I was like, \u2018I have eight years, and maybe nobody ever sees this.’ Then, the first episode went viral. We weren\u2019t going to be able to do this in private.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tVisibility, public support and imposter syndrome are no longer fears for the host who now has hundreds of thousands of subscribers. What\u2019s at stake is sustaining the momentum he\u2019s built so far while simultaneously elevating his platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cThe fears that I have are, how many more people can we bring along on this? How much more will it take before another partner comes to help blow this thing up? What happens when we expand our universe to include more people and versions of the show?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tHowever, Evans is eager to rise to the occasion. He\u2019s already laid the foundation for his spinoff, \u201cHouse Party,\u201d which he plans to continue to expand into the new year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tHe\u2019ll continue to invite heavyweights onto “House Guest,” noting a couple of his dream guest stars being Michelle Obama and Rihanna.  Also in store for the talk show includes a forthcoming cookbook and coffee table book currently in development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cYou can have some element of that episode with you wherever you are, so you can be immersed in the experience of watching the show,” he says. “If it’s some portion of what we eat, drink or a game, we’re going to be rolling those out hopefully in 2026. We have big dreams for \u2018House Party’ and \u2018House Guest,\u2019 and it’s only getting bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAs many daytime and late-night shows decline and creator-led platforms fill in the gap, Evans is pioneering a new way to amplify multicultural voices and how celebrities connect with audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cWhat we’re doing is industry shifting,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn’t foresee becoming the example for so many people who now pitch to create their own hybrid talk-show and podcast. It\u2019s been shocking to be counted as one of the early shifters of the industry in this way. But believe me when I say, you ain\u2019t seen nothing yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u200b\u200b\u201cWhat\u2019s up, neighbors?\u201d are Scott Evans’ famous first words to over 200,000 of his YouTube subscribers that he welcomes into his home every other Friday on his digital talk show, “House Guest.” From political figures such as Kamala Harris to beloved entertainers like Keke Palmer, Evans has invited a bevy of celebrities and notable names […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194300851,"featured_media":1236611187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"authors":[],"contributors":[],"styled_by":[],"_image_credit":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","pmc_selected_wwd_video_media":"","pmc_top_video_source":"","pmc_top_video_duration":"","wwd_top_video_source":"","wwd_top_video_duration":"","pmc_selected_featured_media":"","pmc_selected_video_media":"","pmc_selected_variety_video_media":"","variety_top_video_source":"","variety_top_video_duration":"","pmc_featured_media_has_alt_text":true,"_pmc_featured_animated_media_id":0,"_pmc_featured_video_override_data":"","_pmc_featured_video_override_url":"","_pmc_featured_video_response_data":"","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{},"pmc_list_item_description":"","primary_variety_vip_category":"","primary_variety_vip_tag":"","primary_category":"","primary_vertical":"","_mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"","_pmc_opengraph_title":"","_pmc_opengraph_description":"","categories":0,"subcategories":0,"thr_post_headlines":"","_variety-sub-heading":" Host plans to take the show on tour in 2026 with stops in Atlanta, New York and Chicago.","pmc-imdb-id":"","pmc-review-type":"","pmc-review-rating":"","pmc-review-rating-out-of":"","pmc-review-snippet":"","pmc-review-title":"","pmc-review-canonical-link":"","pmc-theatrical-release-date":0,"pmc-director":"","pmc-review-image_attachment_id":0,"variety-review-origin":"","variety-secondary-credit":"","variety-review-mpaa-rating":"","variety-review-running-time":"","variety-primary-credit":"","variety-primary-cast":"","variety-secondary-cast":"","variety-music-by":"","variety_vip_takeaways":[],"mt_seo_title":"How 'House Guest' Evolved into an Interview Franchise for Scott Evans","mt_seo_description":"'House Guest' host Scott Evans details the evolution of the digital series, how he books notable guests such as Kamala Harris and going on tour.","mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"off","_pmc_canonical_override":"","instant_articles_should_submit_post":false,"_pmc_newsletter_bna_selected_alerts":[],"_pmc_newsletter_bna_subject_override":"","_pmc_newsletter_bna_alert_configs":[],"_pmc_newsletter_bna_send_override":false,"_sailthru_selected_alerts":[],"_sailthru_send_override":false,"_sailthru_alert_subject":"","_sailthru_breaking_news_meta_data":[],"experimental_features_inline_styles":"","linked_video_id":"","pmc_hubs_hide_header":false,"vip_free":"N","override_apple_news_title":"","liveblog":"","_liveblog_key_entry_template":"timeline","_liveblog_key_entry_format":"first-linebreak","_liveblog_key_entry_limit":"","override_post_title":"","override_post_excerpt":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"pmc_apple_news_live_coverage_optin":"","_pitched":false,"_pitched_by":"","_pitched_timestamp":"","_pitched_by_name":"","_pmc_automated_related_links":{"settings":{"module_name":"Related","hide_box":0},"data":[{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true}]},"overlay_text_placement":[],"overlay_text_one":[],"overlay_text_two":[],"pmc-gallery":[],"kicker_meta_block_field":[],"_pmc_kicker":[],"pmc_multiple_products_title":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_photo-ideas-or-requirements":"","_ef_editorial_meta_text_level-of-urgency":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_photo-editor-to-publish":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_user_story-editor":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[9548],"tags":[401696986,401641907],"post_format":[],"_post-options":[],"pmc_ads_suppression":[],"hashtags":[],"genre":[],"vertical":[24932],"ep_custom_result":[],"editorial":[],"coauthors":[401692257],"class_list":["post-1236600511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-house-guest","tag-scott-evans","vertical-digital"],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc8uak-1lGEhx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/House_Guest-1393-Edit.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236600511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194300851"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236600511"}],"version-history":[{"count":62,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236600511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1236612932,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236600511\/revisions\/1236612932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1236611187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236600511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_format?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"_post-options","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_post-options?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"pmc_ads_suppression","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pmc_ads_suppression?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"ep_custom_result","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ep_custom_result?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"editorial","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/editorial?post=1236600511"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1236600511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}