said in a statement.
would hire a woman to host the show.
AISHA TYLER:I read they were looking for a new host, I think inVariety.
Credit: E!
And so he eventually got fired.
The reason I got this show was because my comedy fit the show.
I can be twice as dirty as a guy.
I can make jokes about women that a guy couldnt make.
I can make jokes about black people that a guy couldnt make, I can make jokes about guys.
My range of what I can escape with unscathed ismuchbroader than what a white guy can do.
I just bought you guys a free ticket.
And I was like, [Pauses] Lay back, buddy.
[Laughs] Relax yourself.
It was very much a flagship comedy.
The whole reason that I was brought in was because of my ability to write and be a comedian.
We kind of operated instinctively on, if were having fun, that will translate to the audience.
It was a very self-indulgent show.
All I was really worried about was making the crew laugh.
I think the show went through a big evolution over the years.
And that was great.
It worked to our benefit, because we were able to make the show we wanted to every day.
Maybe they want to move into scripted or maybe they want it to be all Kardashians.
I imagine that its a little bit of ouroboros, that image of a snake eating its own tail.
[Laughs]
Henson leftTalk Soupin 1999.
Sparks took over that year and left the next, and Tyler hosted from 2001 to 2002 until E!
They were starting to die off.
We got to do a live show in Chicago in January.
[Laughs] Who in the hell wants to go to Chicago in January?
It was about 10 degrees below zero, and people waited for hours to get in.
People showed up in costumes, people had signs.
I remember we were sitting backstage and people started stomping their feet and chanting my name.
It was like an out of body experience.
Somebody looked at me and goes, Dude, were Aerosmith!
I loved the show too much to ride it into the ground.
I didnt want to see the tail end of it.
And so I made a decision that I wanted to leave on a high.
There werent 25 or 30 on the air.
The new version of that is online, is viral videos.
Talk shows gave way to reality, and reality is giving way to viral videos.
I think the entire industry is changing.
SPARKS:I think they were expecting me to be upset [when fired].
And they were weirded out when I wasnt, because I realized at that point my career had changed.
TYLER:The show was doing very well, and they were moving us around constantly.
We couldnt build up any momentum because they kept moving the show.
The show was 10 years old it had been this beloved cult hit for a decade.
It felt very frustrating to me that we couldnt give the show the send-off that it deserved.
I went on right after that to doFriends obviously, Ive done fine.
They werent given the opportunity to look elsewhere.
The show just went away abruptly.
Shows go away all the time.
Thats the nature of this business, and I dont think you could cry about it.
We all know what we get into when we sign up for it.
And I loved everybody that worked there.
SPARKS:The design of that show spawned every [other show like it].
Its a perfect show in that regard.
You werent even charged for using the clips!
[…] You could meet Friday afternoon for 45 minutes and put onTalk Soupthese days.
What you were thinking, articulated slightly more comically.
And theres a camaraderie with the viewer.
Theres no way you cant doTalk Soupabout nearly everything.
[Laughs] So theres room for fourTalk Soupson the air right now.
The question is, who can brand it and put it on the air?
I opened up an enormous moving box, and it was unopened fan mail.
Shes gone on to have a great career and be very happy and thriving.
It just made me very, very grateful for the opportunity.
Sometimes comedy is more than comedy.
SeeThe Soups series finale when it airs Friday at 10 p.m.
ET on E!.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
