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.

Join the community

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!

Drew Lewis

Owner - Editor-in-Chief

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.

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).

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 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

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

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

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

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

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.

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...

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.

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...)

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.

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!

Rohan Elliott

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.

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).

Otis Lundahl

Writer

Whether it's rolling on a mat or rolling dice in a tray, Otis Lundahl is always looking for a new angle. His favorite this to do with any piece of pop culture media is break it down and see what else it’s tied to. Some of his favorite games are roguelikes like Risk of Rain 2 and Inscryption, which he’ll often play with a horror podcast playing in the background. There’s really no better thrill than getting kills while having chills.

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!

Tyler J. Graham

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.

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.

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.

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!

Sam Nilsson

Writer

Sam is a co-host of Growing Up Skywalker, a nontoxic Star Wars podcast for new and seasoned fans. Sam is also a regular on the FSF Popcast TTRPG sessions and has been a guest on other podcasts. He grew up in Southwest Colorado, and resides in Golden, Colorado. Sam works in software QA and Geophysics, and is always looking for new opportunities to solve problems for people. In his free time he enjoys archery, baking, whitewater, and D&D. Sam also works as a life coach and mentor, especially for people suffering from addiction and depression.

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.

Maria Kinnun

Writer - Creator

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.

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.

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.

Andrea Carter

Writer

Andrea is a silly little goose who obsesses over lore and storytelling. She is the co-host of The Other Castle podcast and covers the plot, lore, and more behind video games. The show covers the ideation, production, and storylines of fan-favorite game titles. With the power of a single mojito, she can do the entire choreographed dance from Alan Wake 2.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.