Joel McHale Extends Contract with E! Through 2016

E! Entertainment announced today that "The Soup" host Joel McHale will continue to keep fans laughing over the best moments in pop culture with an extended agreement through 2016. The actor and comedian will remain at the helm of the Emmy-nominated live, comedy show, which has been on the air for over a decade. Additionally, McHale's production company, Free Period Productions, will continue its production development deal, in which he will give the network FIRST LOOK rights to ideas for non-scripted series.

"Whether he is entertaining the audience with the best worst of the week or offering up a fresh hit of pop culture on the production development front, McHale is a valued fixture at the network for both his industry know-how and comic relief," said Jeff Olde, EVP Original Programming and Development, E!. "On behalf of the network and fans of 'The Soup,' we can't help but smile as we look forward to more years of comedy with McHale.'"

"I'm thrilled to be working at E! for two more years hosting 'The Soup,'" said McHale. "Although I narrowly beat MITT Romney out for the job in a number of states, I'm confident that I can keep up the same quality of humorous observation of shows like "Naked Dating" and "Bad Girls Club Season 12 Reunion Part 2" that the American people age 18-49 have come to expect and deserve. Thank you E!, Comcast Universal, and the entire Dallas Maverick organization."

Emmy-nominated "The Soup" is a weekly satirical look at reality television and all things pop culture, airing at 10 p.m.ET/PT Wednesdays on E! Equipped with his sharp wit, eye for bad reality television and ability to make every awkward TV moment hysterically epic, Joel McHale brings "The Soup" viewers the most outrageous clips from the boob-tube, complete with plenty of commentary of his own. Produced by Wilshire Studios, "The Soup" began airing LIVE this past summer and year to date, the series reaches nearly 9 million (8.7 MM) unique viewers each month and remains the networks most DVR'd show on the network, as half of its audience watches it time-shifted.

McHale is repped by WME and Ziffren Brittenham.