AMC Is Taking Chris Hardwick Back After All
Chris Hardwicks Hollywood exile has apparently come to an end. Just a few weeks after AMC paused its..
Chris Hardwicks Hollywood exile has apparently come to an end. Just a few weeks after AMC paused its relationship with the omnipresent TV host after he was accused of sexual and emotional abuse by an ex-partner, it seems the network has had a change of heart. According to Entertainment Weekly, Hardwick will be reinstated as the host of Talking Dead, the Walking Dead-themed talk show he has hosted since 2011, and as the host of his series Talking with Chris Hardwick. His renewed tenure on Talking Dead will begin on August 12. It was previously reported that Yvette Nicole Brown would temporarily take over Hardwicks position on that date, in addition to hosting a Walking Dead Season 9 preview special on August 5. Per E.W., she will still host the special, and will now be a guest on the August 12 Talking Dead episode.
AMC released a statement about the decision, saying that Hardwicks reinstatement comes after an investigation into the abuse claims:
“Following a comprehensive assessment by AMC, working with Ivy Kagan Bierman of the firm Loeb & Loeb, who has considerable experience in this area, Chris Hardwick will return to AMC as the host of Talking Dead and Talking with Chris Hardwick. We take these matters very seriously and given the information available to us after a very careful review, including interviews with numerous individuals, we believe returning Chris to work is the appropriate step.”
Hardwick came under fire in June after his former girlfriend, actress and model Chloe Dykstra, accused him of sexual and emotional abuse in a lengthy personal essay on Medium. Though Dykstra did not name Hardwick in the essay, he later released a statement confirming that she was writing about him. In the statement, he simultaneously denied the allegations and claimed that Dykstra cheated on him. Actress and model Lydia Hearst, Hardwicks wife, also released a statement in defense of her husband.
As is generally the case in this new era of reckoning, the fallout for Hardwick was fairly instant. Nerdist, the company he founded, removed all mention of him from the Web site, and released a statement distancing itself from its former leader. “We were shocked to read the news this morning,” the statement read. “That type of behavior is contrary to everything we stand for and believe in, and we absolutely dont tolerate discrimination, harassment, and other forms of abuse.”
Hardwick also exited panels that he was planning to host for this years Comic-Con. AMC, meanwhile, pulled the second season of his general talk show Talking with Chris Hardwick. “We have had a positive working relationship with Chris Hardwick for many years,” the network said in a statement. “We take the troubling allegations that surfaced yesterday very seriously. While we assess the situation, Talking with Chris Hardwick will not air on AMC.”
It is not yet clear when Talking with Chris Hardwick will return. Representatives for AMC and Hardwick have not yet responded to Vanity Fairs request for comment.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Yohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
