‘The Soup’ Will End Its Run in December; Joel McHale Explains Why

Marisa Roffman November 18, 2015, 3:20 pm

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E! is saying goodbye to The Soup: the long-running Joel McHale-hosted clip show will air its series finale on Friday, Dec. 18 at 10/9 c.

The Soup franchise has been around for 24 years, as the various hosts took on pop culture’s hottest topics. The initial version, Talk Soup, bowed in 1991 with Greg Kinnear as the host. John Henson, Hal Sparks, and Aisha Tyler also served as Talk Soup hosts, until the show went off the air in 2002. The series was rebranded The Soup in 2004 and McHale was named host. With McHale stepping down, the network opted to say goodbye to the show as well.

“I loved doing The Soup for all of these years (86 to be exact) but am excited to solely focus on my acting career now,” McHale said in a statement supplied to TV Insider. “Thanks to all who watched and thanks to Kim Kardashian’s ass for all that it’s done for me and my family.”

For his part, McHale has kept busy during his run on The Soup: he starred on the NBC/Yahoo! comedy, Community; appeared in films; hosted the White House Correspondence dinner; and has an arc in the upcoming The X-Files revival.

“We are incredibly proud of the long-running success of The Soup,” said Jeff Olde, EVP of Programming & Development for E! in a statement. “The Soup has delivered countless laughs and unforgettable episodes, and we are grateful to the talented team’s fearless wit and clever approach week after week. Joel took the show to new heights for more than a decade, and his irreverent humor and unique brand of comedy as captured so perfectly on The Soup will be missed.”

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