TVSquad

I was a fan of The Soup back when it was called Talk Soup and was hosted by Hal Sparks (I'm too young for the Greg Kinnear and John Henson eras). I've become a fan of Joel McHale and appreciate his writing staff and his comedic timing. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think that Talk Soup would ever become a franchise like Law & Order, CSI, or NCIS.

Soon four versions of the soup showed up on E!'s sibling channels: The Dish (on Style), Sports Soup (on Versus), Web Soup (on G4), and Celebrity Soup (the British version), but none can compare to the original. The Dish is funny for female oriented television as Sports Soup is for watching the most awkward sports shows. Web Soup feels like a hiccup in the thought process.

One of the long-time staples on cable has been The Soup (formerly Talk Soup) on E!. What started as a spoof of the various bizarre and goofy talk shows that permeated the airwaves throughout the '90s was reborn as a show that makes fun of all things television and pop culture now. Now the brand is seeking to expand to provide the same brand of satire and commentary to the sports world. Sister network Versus will air Sports Soup twice a week beginning October 14th, 2008. Of course, as with Joel McHale on The Soup the success of its new sister show will rest solely on the shoulders of its host, Matt Iseman.

In looking at Iseman's Wiki entry, it looks like this show was originally branded After Further Review. I guess they thought associating it with an already successful show with a similar format would improve its ratings. The network is still trying to establish itself as a viable sports brand in the ESPN world. Adding a show like this might be just the thing they need to drum up some buzz.