TV Critics Tour: E!’s McHale Has Plenty To Skewer
‘The Soup’ Host Sees No ‘Shortage’ Of Subjects To Ridicule
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 7/8/2008 4:59:00 PM
Beverly Hills, Calif. – Joel McHale, host of the E! Entertainment Televisiclip show The on Soup, has no fear that he’ll run short of TV shows and people to skewer – and that celebrities don’t seem to take offense at his digs.
“Unless the power grids fail, there will never be a shortage,” McHale said during a panel Tuesday at the Television Critics Association summer tour here.
The Soup airs video clips that depict ridiculous and embarrassing moments on TV programs, or show the ridiculous behavior of celebrities.
McHale and his two executive producers, Edward Boyd and K.P. Anderson, at the session said that the celebrities they skewer are seeking publicity and attention, such as reality-show participants, and are acting inappropriately, inviting criticism.
In fact, the show often is contacted by reality-TV show stars who want to come on The Soup, according to the panelists.
“We’ve been very lucky that the publicity whores we make fun of are truly publicity whores,” Anderson said.
McHale said he ran into the Kardashian sisters, the stars of E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which The Soup has mad fun of.
“I thought they were going to jump me, and they said they loved the show,” McHale recalled. “And was like, ‘I called you dead behind the eyes like 300 times.’”
At one point Anderson said, “The show’s built on the shoulders of Kim Kardashian’s ass.”
The Soup has a staff of about 14 people watching TV shows, looking for material, each assigned a certain number of hours of programming.
For more TCA coverage click here.
