"Talk Soup" Hangs Up Its Spoon

E! announces popular spoof show will end after 11 seasons; final show tapes Friday

By Marcus Errico May 10, 2002 1:30 AMTags
Talk Soup, E! Entertainment Television's first breakout hit and signature program for more than a decade, is all talked out.

The Emmy-winning show, which goofed on TV talk shows ranging from Jerry Springer to Late Night with Conan O'Brien, will shut down production after its 11th season, Mark Sonnenberg, E! Networks executive vice president of entertainment, has announced.

"After 11 successful years on E!, we decided to end production while the series is still popular featuring its rising-star host Aisha Tyler," says Sonnenberg. "Talk Soup has always been a launching pad for today's hottest talents from Greg Kinnear to Aisha Tyler. Aisha is a tremendous talent and we're thrilled about her blossoming film career."

"My time at Talk Soup has been a blast both creatively and personally," says Tyler, the show's fourth host. "E! has been extraordinarily supportive of the show and has really enabled the Talk Soup team members to stretch our comedic wings. I'm very proud of the work the writing staff has done and hope to work with these talented individuals on other projects in the future."

Tyler, who took over the Soup bowl in 2001, will continue to pursue her acting career. In addition to her E! gig, she hosts the syndicated dating show 5th Wheel and has appeared on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. She recently finished shooting the Tim Allen Yuletide sequel The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause.

Since its debut in 1991, Talk Soup has become a high-profile proving ground for unknown funny folk. Founding host and then-unknown Kinnear first boosted the show to prominence before leaving to pursue TV and film work, including 1997's As Good As It Gets (which earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor) and the recently released We Were Soldiers.

Under Kinnear, the show won an Emmy in 1995 for Outstanding Special Class Program. Over the course of its decade-plus run, the show scored four more nods.

Kinnear was followed by snarkmeister John Henson (aka Skunkboy), who left in July 1999 to try his hand at network television. And smirking comic Hal Sparks sat in the Talk Soup hot seat for just under a year before moving on to Showtime's Queer as Folk.

Talk Soup has also been a favorite stopover for celeb guest stars, including Dustin Hoffman, Roseanne, Jon Lovitz, Janeane Garofalo, Ellen DeGeneres, Suzanne Somers, Ed Asner, Joan Collins, William Shatner, Adam Arkin, Tori Spelling, George Hamilton, Ed McMahon, boxers George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard, Vicki Lawrence, Phyllis Diller and Andy Dick.

The cancellation comes during a shakeout in the talk-show realm, with such fixtures as Rosie O'Donnell and Sally Jessy Raphael are bowing out this season and Oprah Winfrey saying she will leave her show in 2006.

Talk Soup's final episode--featuring Tyler's favorite moments--will be taped Friday and air Saturday at 1 a.m. ET/PT.