The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale

For twelve seasons, actor and presenter Joel McHale supplied sarcastic quips and consistent giggles on his E! channel comedy series "The Soup", itself a revamped spin-off of the network's prior franchise "Talk Soup." With his trademark sardonic charm, McHale lampooned and poked fun at popular culture, taking a specific aim at television and news media. And it was a fantastic bit of low-budget and even lower-brow fun with a simple format- show some clips and crack some jokes. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and "The Soup" was cancelled during the 2015 Holiday season.

Or was it?

Well, yeah. It was. But that didn't stop good-old streaming empire Netflix from digging it up, dusting it off and giving it a fresh new spit-and-polish. While it technically can't go by its classic name, "The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale" is for all intents and purposes a reboot of the beloved cult comedy series, boasting a near-identical format and even much of the original crew behind the scenes. And the result is a refreshing bit of fun for all fans who were hoping for another hearty helping of 'soup.'

With a slightly (and I do mean "slightly") boosted budget, McHale and his merry crew are once again showing us the best of the worst that the entertainment world has to offer, giving us clips from everything from television reality shows to sporting events to viral internet videos, and playfully poking fun at just how silly it really is. Mixed in with dopey skits, themed segments ("Sports Segment... brought to you by... BEVERAGES!") and other assorted goofiness, "The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale" is just about everything a fan of "The Soup" could want. Heck, the pilot even had a mini-impromptu "Community" reunion to boot, which was a nice treat for fans of McHale's other famous comedy series! (Side Note: Netflix, you already have about half the cast in your employ... make "Community" the next show you revive, please!)

Now all that being said, there is definitely going to be a bit of a transition. And I can already see the unease in the early reviews here that are lambasting the show for its faults. It's been a couple years, guys. Don't dismiss the show due to a slightly rough-around-the-edges pilot. McHale and the writers are clearly getting back into the swing of things, and you can already tell they're all having a blast and that it's gonna get better and better as it goes along. A few mistimed gags in the first episode aren't enough to derail the whole experience. As a longtime fan of both McHale and "The Soup", I had an absolute blast with "The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale", and I'll definitely be tuning in every week to see what they have up their sleeves next.

I'm giving "The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale" a very good 8 out of 10. It has plenty of laughs to go around, and I can't wait to see the next episode.

(Note: This review may be updated in the future based on the strengths and weaknesses of future episodes.)

This is his lane. He's an equal opportunist. Do dumb stuff on tv and he'll call it out. He's quick smart and funny. Was always wondering what happened to the Soup... i hope Netflix never cancels this show.

As a massive fan of The Soup, I was ecstatic to hear that Joel MacHale was getting a new show on Netflix, and I am happy to say, its as if they just picked up where they left off. Taking hilarious jabs at pop culture and silly TV shows. Its basically the same format as the original Soup, Joel stands in front of in front of a green screen as he makes fun of the bottom of the barrel of TV trash. I laughed just as hard as I did with the original soup and I highly look forward to the rest. Its going to be a weekly show so I cant wait for the next episodes.

The show is also uncensored, which is very fun to see. It also tales many jabs at the Soup and his team of workers. The exclaim its amazing that someone gave Joel another job, and also remembering how bad the animated titles were. The show also doesn't just do TV like the Soup did, it also does internet videos like Tosh.0. I'm am so overjoyed that this show didn't suck like so many other Netflix shows, I highly looking forward to what is basically more episodes of the original Soup.

I recommend this to any Soup fan.

I really enjoyed season 1. The content of season 2 is great as well. HOWEVER!!! Someone fire the post production sound mixer guy. The softest volume item on the show (most noticeable in episode 1 season 2) is Joel's voice. Are you kidding? The loudest volume item was the theme song at the end. Right in the middle were the clips. What is this, the "Joel Mchale theme song guy show"? Very unprofessional. Disappointing. And who the heck is labeling this show unscripted? It is anything but. There. I feel better.

While some review(s) balk at the concept of the show, saying that Joel McHale can't run something like this or that this is some sort of low point, I need only reference the fact that this is, in all relevant ways, The Soup which ran for over a decade.

And this show is The Soup, except on Netflix (dum-dummm), and aside from some jokes geared at the network and other slight changes, this is essentially the same show that you remember.

From the fantastically ridiculous and out-of-context clips to the impromptu cameos and cheesy segment openers, it is the perfect successor to the series, and the same parts that used to make me laugh are doing so once again.

That all being said, this show is not for everyone (the same could be said for the original), but if you liked McHale's last half-hour standing in front of a green screen once a week, you should not be disappointed.