The Soup

The Soupis an American television series that aired weekly onE!from July 1, 2004, until December 18, 2015, as arevampedversion ofTalk Soupthat focused on recaps of various popular culture and television moments of the week. The show was hosted by comedianJoel McHale, who providedsarcasticandsatiricalcommentary on the various clips. On November 18, 2015,The Soupwas cancelled by E! and its last episode aired December 18, 2015.On February 18, 2018,The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale, aspiritual successortoThe Soup, premiered onNetflix.
The series returned on February 12, 2020, with new hostJade Catta-Preta,but was soon affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic. It last aired on October 14, 2020.
The Soupstarted on July 1, 2004, as theWhat The...? Awards, but the name was changed to maintain name recognition withTalk Soup.
On January 9, 2013,The Soupdebuted a new graphics package, including a new logo designed by Newspeak Agency.
Starting June 2, 2014,The Soupbegan airing live episodes. Originally only to last for one month, the program continued as a live show.
On November 18, 2015The Soupwas canceled, the number of episodes that were to be produced was later reduced by one. A decision was made not to air the episode that had been filmed and intended to air the same day as theNovember 2015 Paris attacksdue to multiple references to "killing Baby Hitler". As the episode was pre-filmed, it later aired on November 27, likely replacing a clip show due to it beingthe day after Thanksgiving.
On January 9, 2020, it was revealed E! would be revivingThe Soup, now hosted byJade Catta-Preta– the first new episode aired on February 12, 2020.It went on an unexpected hiatus after the March 11 episode due to thecoronavirus pandemicshutting down production across the industry, but it resumed production in July 2020, before going on a second shutdown after the October 14 episode, which would be its last.
The show features the host on agreen-screenedset with a screen to their right. The show is broken up into various segments that focus on themes such as reality television shows or shows on E!. The host introduces each clip, which is then played, then comments on the clip before moving on to the next one. There is a live audience on the show, composed of a small group of E! employees, their family, and friends, along with the typical production personnel. The audience is involved in the show, laughing and cheering along with the clips. The 2020 revival includes a second camera position stage right, where the host can present other content on a second auxiliary video display.
Although the show is scripted, a large portion of it is ad-libbed.
On April 22, 2008, a blog was started forThe Soupon E!'s website.
During its original 2004–2015 run,The Soupused its own cast of recurring characters. They include Mankini (a man wearing a bikini top and pants played by Dominic DeLeo, who is also a writer and producer for the show), a dancing maxi pad (Tess Rafferty, a supervising producer and the then-only female writer onThe Soup),two nerds who dress asStar Warscharacters, an intern named Matt whom McHale shoots with a gun (often with the shootingsound effectpurposefully played out of sync, or even played with other objects or with just fingers), Jewbacca (Chewbacca's lawyer), and "Spaghetti Cat", a cat eating spaghetti fromThe Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. Additionally, Tom McNamara, The Soup'sstage managerand former stage manager onTalk Soup, and Kelly Levy (néeAndrews), the show's former announcer and a producer, made appearances on the show, with Kelly portrayingCourtney Stodden. Executive producer Edward Boyd'schihuahuaLouappeared regularly in segment openings, most notably the "Clip of the Week", and elsewhere in the show. He also appeared with McHale at the show's intro, which showed them watching a different TV show each week until the intro was changed in early 2010.  The replacement intro juxtaposes brief clips introduced by announcerAnndi McAfeeand a "reaction" by another clip, wildly out of context.
The show has a number of segments that focus on various genres of television shows. Regular segments include:
The Souphas also featured other recurring segments:
The show has a number of recurring jokes and segments. One of the most frequent jokes is Joel McHale making fun ofRyan Seacrest. He usually comments on Seacrest's height, sexuality, clothing, busy work schedule, income, or demeanor.
Joel has also spoofed other actors, most notablyCSI: Miamileading manDavid Caruso, who plays LieutenantHoratio Caine. He usually makes fun of the character's tendency to always put on his sunglasses and say corny one-liners at the start of every episode (followed by the first 2–3 seconds of the opening sequence). Joel also will sometimes spoof a person after a clip.
Joel also jokes about how self-centeredTyra Banksis onher self-titled talk show.  More jokes are Joel making fun of Spencer Pratt's "creepy flesh colored beard" as well as the ages ofLarry KingandRegis Philbinand how they were both still alive.  Also, McHale often comically berates or abuses "interns" for the show, usually ending with a poorly timed (or sometimes completely out-of-place) audio clip of a gun firing after McHale uses a prop gun on them. McHale has often attempted to "shoot" Mankini, but with no effect.
TheSpaghetti CatfromThe Morning Show with Mike and Juliethas been used a number of times, usually with a model of the cat rolling in, looking at Joel, and then rolling back out.
Joel has often made fun ofBruno Tonioli's flamboyancy while giving comments onDancing with the Starsstating that he was reading excerpts from his romance novelJazz Hands and Cold Feet.
The Soupmakes jokes at the A&E TV Series,Steven Seagal: Lawman. Whenever Joel would introduce a clip from the show, a sound clip would say "That's Right It's Steven Seagal", followed by Joel drinking a Steven Seagalenergy drinkthat would humorously float into frame.
Due to NFL CoachJimmy Johnson's recent appearance onSurvivor, Joel usually mentions his "Extenze-enhanced penis", followed by a clip of Johnson saying, "I do."
A number of clips have been repeatedly shown onThe Soup. One clip featuresOprah Winfreysaying "Myva-jay-jayis painin'!" while hanging from a harness at the Miraval resort.Another clip involvesWhitney Houstonyelling "Kiss My Ass!" at her husband. McHale has mentioned that this clip is one of his favorites.Still another clip that is often shown is ofThe Today Show's news correspondentAnn Currystarting her report by saying, "Good morning, good morning everybody, in the news this morning, good morning", which Olbermann mimicked on his appearance on the July 25, 2008 show. Joel often shows a clip ofKendra WilkinsonfromThe Girls Next Doorlaughing. When someone mentions marriage on the show, they will often show a clip ofElizabeth Taylorscreaming "Marriage?! Noooooo!" Shorter clips are sometimes used as interjections. Clips ofDani Noriega("I guess some people weren't likin' it!"), and more recently,Tatiana Del Torogiggling uncontrollably, have been used as part of McHale's reactions to clips. Recent favorites includeGary Buseyexclaiming "I'm going to pull yourendocrine systemout of your body",Tila Tequilayelling out "A pig's vagina!",Michelle GaldenzifromScream Queenssaying "and by record, I mean vagina.",Big BrothercontestantsJase Wireyand Michelle Costa "talking" to one another using animal and computer sounds, respectively; "Chicken Tetrazzini" clip fromMaury, Spencer Pratt fromThe Hillswhispering "That's the problem", Billy Bush saying "It's Gross", and Kate Gosselin squealing in a chirpy/grating-sounding voice "Come and Getcher POPcoooooorn!". Recently, theJeffrey Osbornesong, "On the Wings of Love", has been used to mock the current season ofThe Bachelor. Vonda, a woman featured on theTruTvshowOver the Limithas been featured saying, "Dunka Doo Balls." This clip has become a new favorite. Recently, a clip fromFantasia for Realfeaturing Fantasia's Aunt Bunny saying, "Gurl Please", has become a new favorite. Also, a clip of "Ma" from TruTV'sMa's Roadhousesaying "He's a douchebag," after Joel ask what she thinks of a less than favourable man, such asMel Gibson, has come into use. Another clip ofRyan Seacrestsaying, "Hell no, say what", has been used as reactions to clips. Calvin Tran, a contestant on Bravo'sThe Fashion Show, has recently been featured in a clip saying, "Oh, here go Hell Come." Frequently followingGood Day New Yorkclips, McHale will askGreg Kellyto explain how something works, and this will follow with a clip of Kelly shrugging and saying, "Science".
The Soupwill often make blatant and obvious edits to clips of shows, often killing off characters (as in their versions ofLaguna BeachandThe Hills) or splicing McHale and other characters into the shows. McHale will often punctuate the clip by saying "We doctored that."  However, if a clip was shown that may have made the audience think that it was edited byThe Soupfor broadcast while watching it, McHale would state before hand "We did not doctor this."
Original skits are integrated into the show as responses or jokes to clips. Fake movie trailers and advertisements are created as spoofs to segments or clips. Among the movies spoofed areSpider-Man 3(in reference to McHale's appearance inSpider-Man 2),Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,Made of Honor,Righteous Kill,Mamma Mia,Beverly Hills Chihuahua,Quarantine, (which McHale spoofed with QuaranTween aboutDisney Channelcelebrities),Prom Night,Fast & Furious, and aTyler Perrymovie.
The Soup's 2020 return, hosted by Brazilian-born comedian and actressJade Catta-Preta, was billed as its 13th season. 19 episodes aired through October 2020 when they abruptly stopped. Catta-Preta later confirmed on the podcast TigerBelly that the show had been canceled and would not be returning.
In addition to regular episodes, special "Best of..." episodes from the 2004–2015 run have been shown under the header "The SoupPresents". Episodes of this nature have been produced on topics such as models and modeling shows, fights on television, and talk shows, two "Chicks, Man/Ladies, Ladies, Ladies" specials focusing on reality TV females, a show about love and marriage called "Love and Other Burning Sensations", and most recently, a show dedicated to television programs that have had recurring appearances onThe Soup(the "shows [they] just cannot quit"). During the holiday seasons, two-part episodes showcasing the best clips of the year are aired (Clipdowns).
In 2004,The Soupstarted off as a relatively quiet show, but became one of the most popular programs on E!. By 2006 it was the third highest rated show on the network.
In July 2013,The Soupaveraged 682,000 viewers, and about 56 percent of viewers watched a recorded version of the show. The 500th episode ofThe Souprecorded 909,000 viewers, with 653,000 of those in the 18—49 demographic.
The one-hour finale on December 18, 2015, ended with 561,000 viewers.
Since E! is owned by Comcast Entertainment Group, their now-defunct sibling networks aired tailored versions for their networks, includingStyle,VersusandG4, all taped in the same studio and utilizing the same crew.
On August 16, 2008, Style premieredThe Dish, hosted byDanielle Fishel. The show focused more on celebrity, magazine, andfashion industrytrends, along with style and fashion-related reality programs in more detail, includingProject Runwayand various shows on the shopping channels,HGTVandDIY Network. It was canceled on March 20, 2011, two months after the merger of NBC and Comcast was complete. It was thoughtthe cancellation was the direct result of former competitorsBravoandOxygencoming under common NBCUniversal ownership with Style; the two networks and their programming had been among the major comedic targets ofThe Dish.
On September 15, 2008, E! parent Comcast Entertainment Group announced another spin-off, this time sports-related, of the series, which aired on the group's sports network, Versus (later known asNBCSN), calledSports Soupand was hosted byMatt Iseman.Debuted on October 14, the program once aired twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Later, production was reduced to weekly at 10 pm ET on Tuesdays (or later depending on the end ofNHL on Versusor other sports coverage). It was canceled on July 15, 2010.
A third version, airing on G4, titledWeb Soup, hosted byChris Hardwickdebuted June 7, 2009 at 9 pm ET. This version is more of a blend of the commentary and reaction portions ofThe Soupand two other G4 programs;Whacked Out Videosand theAround the Netviral video segment which opensAttack of the Show. This show ended after its 3rd season on July 20, 2011.
Celebrity Soupwas the British version of the American show hosted by comedianIain Lee. UnlikeThe Soup,Celebrity Soupairs 19 episodes in a season, instead of year-round like in the United States. It had some of the same features as the original (i.e. "Chat Stew"), but also has its own running gags and features. The series had a similar set, with a window overlooking London'sBig Beninstead of Hollywood, as in the U.S. original.
The Soup Investigatesfeatured most of the same crew, including Joel McHale as the host. In the spin-off, the reporters go looking for potentially funny celebrity news stories. It is a spoof ofinvestigative journalism.