The Story Of Couch Soup

What does couch 
soup mean anyways?

CouchSoup (noun) - The hodgepodge of entertainment that you lavish from the comfort of your living room seating area. 

Basically, we are a group of like-minded nerds who talk about pop-culture and comedy content with an authentic and unfiltered approach. Born from the ashes of Retro Replay and Con Man this is a new venture from PJ Haarsma and Drew Lewis to be an outlet and platform for those who have a passion for creating content with those who enjoy having intelligent (somewhat) discourse about the things they love. Where traditional online platforms are full of vitriol and bots and pundits...CouchSoup can be so much more. Stay awhile. Hell, join the community and get to know some folks.  

About Us

Below is the team that helps make the soup taste so good. Ok, sure that's kinda gross but you know what we are trying to say. Give these folks a follow on social and if there's something you don't like bother them there.

The team making
Your delicious Soup everyday!

PJ HAARSMA

Owner - Executive Producer
Founder of Redbear Films, the company behind Retro Replay. He is the author of the popular Softwire series and Executive Producer of the TV show, Con Man starring Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion. When he’s not making content with Drew, he’s building brands for Fortune 500 companies (again with Drew).

Drew Lewis

Owner - Executive Producer
Holds the role as the Head of Content at Redbear Films, where he leads the charge in emerging media, creative and, of course, wizardry. Embracing today’s media landscape of real-time data, co-creation with consumers, branded entertainment, and almost limitless channel combinations, Drew is pioneering exciting new ways to develop lasting conversations between brands and consumers.

Stephanie Judge

Sr. Video Editor - Producer
Stephanie was educated at San Francisco State University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fiction Filmmaking. During her four years at San Francisco State University, she was an active member of the Professional Gender Inclusive Cinematic Arts Fraternity, Delta Kappa Alpha. There she collaborated with her fellow members on various films and projects.
Michelle H. Headshot

Michelle Holstine

Community Manager - Writer
Growing up NOT in civilization in the mountains of West Virginia, Michelle found adventure in books, movies and games. She was raised very untraditionally on Star Trek: The Original Series, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. She found the Harry Potter books to be her one true obsession, and discovered gaming with her family would be some of the best memories she could hope for. Now living in Texas, she is still trying to find her passion in her career, but her hobbies remain the same.
Brandy Brown

Brandy Brown

Senior Editor - Writer
Brandy grew up in a small suburb outside Houston, Texas, in a time when MTV still had music videos and before video game consoles in homes were a thing. She may be the only one in her town that owned a ColecoVision instead of an Atari. She also has a knack for finding the humor in everything even in situations where maybe she shouldn’t. 
Dan Morris Headshot

Dan Morris

Editor - Writer - Creator
You may recognize Dan from The Replayer Podcast, which he Co-created and Co-hosts. Dan is a deadpan gamer and nerd obsessing over every video game he can get in his hands. For some reason, Dan lives and breathes Godzilla and other silly (men in monster suits) movies. It is believed that Dan is actually dead inside as he never seems to have any emotional or lively reaction to anything. Some say his resting bitch face is a permanent condition due to desensitization from having played too many survival horror games as a child.

FRIENDS OF THE CHANNEL

Good content attracts good people. And the folks below are masters of their craft and bring not only their years of knowledge in creating content on the largest stage (Film, TV, Gaming) but they also have that stardust that seems to just make everything a bit shinier. 

Nolan North

Actor, Producer, VO Wizard
An acclaimed American actor and voice actor recently honored with BAFTA award for outstanding contribution to performance in games. In Nolan’s 20-year career he has portrayed characters in over 180 titles. His portrayal as Nathan Drake in the acclaimed Uncharted Series has made him a household name. Other notable video performance work includes roles as Desmond Miles in the Assassin’s Creed series, David in The Last of Us, Ghost in Destiny and Destiny 2, the Penguin in the Batman: Arkham series, Corrupted Cores in Portal 2, Vossler in Final Fantasy XII, Eradan in Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Doctor Edward Richtofen in the Call of Duty games, and multiple Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 characters. Nolan has also starred on screen in the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars as well as the Emmy-nominated series Con Man. Nolan has created some of the most beloved characters in games, setting the standard as a pioneer of the range of exceptional performances in the medium.
Liam McIntyre

Liam McIntyre

Actor, Producer, Writer
An Australian actor, best known for playing the lead role on the Starz television series Spartacus: Vengeance and War of the Damned and as Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard on The Flash. He has also voiced JD Fenix in the Gears of War series, Captain Boomerang in the DC Animated Movie Universe, Commander Pyre on Star Wars Resistance and Taron Malicos in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In 2016, he collaborated with Smosh Games to promote his card game Monster Lab. In 2020, he partnered with Spartacus co-star Todd Lasance to create the gaming series Get Good for the Retro Replay YouTube channel following a charity livestream benefiting Black Summer.
Todd Lasance

Todd Lasance

Actor
An Australian actor, best recognized for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on Home and Away, Cam Jackson on Rescue: Special Ops, Ben McMahon on Crownies and Major Sydney "Syd" Cook on ANZAC Girls. He has also appeared in American television roles, such as Julius Caesar on Spartacus: War of the Damned, Julian on The Vampire Diaries and Edward Clariss / Rival on The Flash. In 2020, he partnered with Spartacus co-star Liam McIntyre to create the gaming series Get Good for the Retro Replay YouTube channel, following a charity livestream benefiting Black Summer.

Our Mission

CouchSoup will be an outlet of pop-culture and comedy content by the common “nerd” that wants and perhaps needs a platform to have authentic discourse with an unfiltered perspective on a number of topics ranging from games to tv to comics to animation through articles, video, and podcasts. We're a subscription-based business. Our goal is to create a financially stable and independent publication that exists for reasons beyond squeezing out profits for some people in a boardroom. We hope you'll join us.

Interested in Contributing or Creating for CouchSoup? Learn more and apply here.

Our Contributors...

Thomas Richards Headshot

Thomas Richards

Content Editor - Writer - Creator
Self-proclaimed anime trash from Melbourne, Australia, Thomas has always been obsessed with everything pop culture. From games such as Pokémon and Jak and Daxter to the MCU and everything in between. When he isn’t hyper-fixated on some new shiny release or feeding his manga buying disease, Tom is always trying to create new things that can bring a smile to anyone's face.
Ian McParland Headshot

Iain McParland

Layout Editor - Writer
A northerner from England, Iain is passionate about all things film, TV, and video games (he has an obsession with popping them trophies in PlayStation games). When not consuming pop culture, Iain can be found drawing on MS Paint, learning Mandarin, watching football (soccer), or at pub quizzes. Mostly the pub thing, although he actually has not drunk a drop of alcohol since a messy Christmas Eve over a decade ago...
Rohan Elliott Headsot

Rohan Elliott

Content Editor - Writer
An indie author from Western Australia, Rohan loves writing stories that hook readers from the start and keep them turning right to the very last page. When he’s not writing stories, contributing to Couch Soup or recharging with a good book, you can catch him on his blog chatting about the latest games he’s played, movies he’s watched or weirder topics like which car in movie history has the worst criminal record… yeah, we don’t know what he was thinking with that one either.
Maria Kinnun

Maria Kinnun

Layout Editor - Writer
Originally a Cockney from England, Maria has been living the American lifestyle since 2011 and currently resides in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. At 5’1”, Maria wears the moniker of Pocket Ninja proudly with over 15 years of martial arts experience (2 black belts: a 1st Dan in ITF Taekwondo and a 2nd Dan in Japanese Ju-Jitsu). She draws, paints, takes photos, plays video games, streams on Twitch, plays instruments, works in animal welfare and is a connoisseur of terrible jokes and being rather silly.
Tyler Graham Headshot

Tyler J. Graham

Content Editor - Writer
A full time university student hailing from New Jersey, Tyler has loved video games since he was given a GBA at the age of 4. Pokémon Emerald became his religion, and Pokémon Pinball became his creed. Now pursuing a degree in journalism, Tyler spends his free time looking for new and unique gaming experiences. Tragically, he's still afflicted with Pokémon Fever.
Ben Hazell Headshot

Ben Hazell

Writer
Ben is a writer and video game enthusiast from somewhere mysterious in the North East of England. He spends a lot of his time either jamming out to music or playing video games with stories which take his fancy, or if they include fun and immersive multiplayer. As Magnasword2 on YouTube and Twitch, he's made gameplay videos and streams for the past seven years. (Oh no has it been that long already...)
Lizabeth Pheonix

Lizabeth Phoenix

Writer - Creator
Lizabeth Phoenix is an author, nerd, and queen of fandom rambles. After being introduced to the Uncharted franchise by the world’s biggest Sly Cooper fan, Liza never looked back. She is obsessed with all things George R. R. Martin and Nathan Drake, and can be found most days with her face buried in her laptop working on her novels.
Lilly K

Lily K

Writer - Creator
Huge movie maniac and Captain America fan, Lily K is from Hungary. She was a gamer ever since she can remember who started out with Duck Hunt and grew up with all the classics. Uncharted proved to be a life-changing experience and made her into a Chloe Cosplayer, probably for life. Artist, actress and film buff, Lily K is here to spread all her knowledge to you.
Pagan Plays Headshot

Pagan Plays

Writer - Creator
Pagan comes from a colorful background of drama and performance studies, has had a few roles as a trainee assistant director on film sets in Ireland, heck, she even had a few professional acting roles, but I mean, who really knows? Hailing from both The Rainbow Nation and The Green Isle, she’s colorful to say the least.
Stefanie Watson Headshot

Stef Watson

Writer - Creator
Stephanie is a proud Gen-Xer from Raleigh, North Carolina, who has found interesting ways to combine her professional experience in training, writing, and editing with her odd array of hobbies, from fire dancing to video games. Behind the scenes, Stef thrives on finding patterns, cutting out cruft, and bringing order to chaos as a Level 48 Druid... (a.k.a. program manager).
Erika Aundawyn Headshot

Erika Aundawyn

Writer - Creator
You may recognize Erika Aundawyn as Daewyn from Couch Soup's limited tabletop RPG series, The Green Knight!  She is also the Creator of the Twitch channel "Role_D5," a TTRPG one-shot channel with weekly special guests from all over the RPG community. Aun is an enthusiastic nerd of all forms, with the tattoos to back it up!
Candace Rose

Candace Rose

Writer
Candace Rose originates from the Great Lake State of Michigan, where having all four seasons in one day is considered normal and “Ope” is the code word for sorry. She is living the Disney Princess life of befriending nature’s little creatures while getting lost in the fantasy worlds of books & video games.
Jake Brown

Jake Brown

Writer - Creator
Jake comes from the beautiful city of St. Augustine, Florida. Some of his favorite games of all time include Gears Of War, Uncharted and Banjo-Kazooie. When he’s not with his family and rewatching “How I Met Your Mother” or “Psych” for the thousandth time, you can find him saving the world or discovering lost cities while cosplaying as Spider-Man or Nathan Drake.
Shana Martin

Shana Martin

Writer
Shana is originally from Findlay, Ohio, and currently resides in Largo in Central Florida. She proclaims that in life she “always has the BEST seat in the house!” Being diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy from birth has not stopped her from living life to the fullest. Her poetry has been published in 6 different collections. She loves Renaissance Festivals and any film that  has copious amounts of sword fighting. She’s also addicted to yarn and chocolate!
Nick Mckay

Nick McKay

Writer - Creator
Nick is a semi-professional goofball. He enjoys all things gaming, TV and film. He found his passion after falling in love with the first Bioshock game. Socially awkward, but he can quote every line from The Mummy Returns. He aspires to become an actor, stand up comedian and screenwriter. Big Star Wars fan, even bigger Spider-Man fan. Imagine a Spider-Jedi! That would be sick.
Charlotte Merritt

Charlotte Merritt

Writer
Charlotte hails from corn country. Sometimes known as Indiana. (No, really. We gave you Orville Redenbacher. You’re welcome!) She is a martial artist, former radio DJ, and she is also a mom of 2, both nearly grown, kids. When not giving out random bits of useless knowledge she can be found gaming, cooking, reading, spending time with family and friends or hosting gaming nights for the band kids.
Tim Beisiegel Headshot

Tim Beisiegel

Writer
Hello There! (said in my best Obi-Wan Kenobi voice) I’m a lifelong Star Wars fan and lover of pop culture. Always taking the high ground I'm a happily married father of 3 nerds. My mini me’s. 
Luis Reza

Luis Reza

Writer - Creator
Writer/Voice actor/fight choreographer/gamer/movie watcher/free sample taker/general “Person” hailing from the sandy part of Texas, Luis enjoys all forms of entertainment media and even more so nitpicking at them until they’re deconstructed and display what makes them great or… Well, he enjoys entertainment.
Emmanuel Alejandro

Emmanuel Alejandro

Writer
Emmanuel is based in the Live Music Capital of the World: Austin, Texas. From his childhood days playing on a Famicom (the Asian version of the NES), he marvels at how far video games have become as a medium. On a whim, he decided to play Apex Legends and the wins keep racking! And he’s an avid foodie and bookworm.

the Dungeon Mika

Writer & Creator
A fan of TTRPGs, Mika is nicknamed “Dungeon Mika” for his skills as a DM (Dungeon Master) in Dungeons & Dragons. He is a co-creator of the TTRPG channel Role_D5, where he plays dope games with friends. On top of that, he really likes words.
Michael Saint Gregory Headshot

Michael Saint Gregory

Writer - Creator
Michael is a long-time improv actor, comedy writer, and live show producer, and he is currently the Creative Director of Omniversal Entertainment, a TTRPG actual play production company for live streams and pre-recorded shows.
Jacob Kinnun Headshot

Jacob Kinnun

Writer
Also known as Immorpher in gaming circles, Jake is a biophysicist, game modder, and dark ambient musician. His music, programming, and graphics have appeared in dozens of classic Doom and Quake mods - and a few commercially released games as well. He is an enthusiast of classic gaming, boomer shooters, and sci-fi horror, where he is not afraid to spam and promote community projects.
Kim Payne Headshot

Kim Payne

Writer
Born and raised in a small town in the North East of England, Kim is an aspiring writer. If she's not playing action adventure or sci-fi video games, you can usually find her with her head buried in a good murder mystery novel.

Alex Shannon Headshot

Alex Shannon

Writer
Alex Shannon is a writer, producer, and performer based in Brooklyn, NYC. She’s a film nerd feminist with a witchy side and a pop-culture obsession. Alex grew up on Tumblr in the suburbs outside of Philly (go Birds), and is an NYU Tisch and Atlantic Theater Co. Acting School alum. She's worked on Desus & Mero (Showtime), Super Maximum Retro Show (Vice), and an upcoming independent feature film. More at actoralexshannon.com.
Julian Hermano Headshot

Julian Hermano

Writer
Julian is a jack-of-all-trades New York creative with a deep love of storytelling and fantasy. As the co-creator and co-writer of an award winning audio series (The Realm Tree), an actor who has performed on international stages, and a big nerd for story-based video games about the power of friendship, all interests align to be extremely into D&D and other Tabletop RPGs.
Jordan Jurkowski Headshot

Jordan Jurkowski

Writer
Creative video content creator and writer, Jordan Jurkowski is the author of 4 A.M. Thoughts. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English and Creative Writing, through The University of South Australia. Jordan loves retro and new video games, film & TV and anime!

Avery Sheridan

Writer
I get straight to the point, no fluff. I don't shy away from voicing my opinions, popular or not. I might stir the pot a bit with my words, but that's how conversations get started, right? My goal in life is to find a Topsun Charizard Blue Back while dumpster diving.
Jen Miller

Jen Miller

Writer
With the original NES being released on her 3rd birthday, Jen was born to be a gamer. She was born and raised near Seattle and has since moved to the suburbs. She loves Stargate SG-1 above all things, but video games, movies and Star Wars come in closely after. She is currently trying to break into the gaming industry, whatever it takes.

Recent Videos

© 2024 CouchSoup, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Terms of Service | Privacy
© 2022 CouchSoup, LLC. All Rights Reserved