E! Expects Joel McHale To Stay On ‘Soup’

Now that NBC has picked up the half hour comedy Community, people have been asking what will happen to E!’s The Soup. The Soup is a weekly clip show hosted by Joel McHale, who also has a role in the NBC show. As I reported in February, E! said the NBC pilot would not keep McHale from hosting its pop-culture skewering show

“Joel is fully committed to continuing as host of The Soup,” a network spokesperson said at the time. “We support his work on other projects.”

With the pilot now going to series, E! and McHale are reaffirming that statement. The Comcast-owned cable network and the comedian’s publicist says he will do double duty on both shows.

“Joel will still continue to produce and host The Soup while starring in Community.” said Lewis Kay, who represents McHale.

McHale told B&C in February that he came to Los Angeles to become an actor, a goal he has no intentions of giving up on. In addition to Community, he will appear in Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant later this year.

Ultimately the decision is McHale’s. While his contract with E! and the production schedule allow for both The Soup and Community to co-exist, he could choose to leave the friendly confines of the weekly clip show for a shot at a larger acting career.

Of course, The Soup is an excellent fallback in the event that Community flops on NBC. A possibility that surely must be in the back of his mind, given the Peacock’s recent track record.