AMC has announced that Chris Hardwick will resume his hosting duties on several of the network’s shows next month following the conclusion of its investigations into abuse allegations from Hardwick’s ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. Hardwick’s talk show Talking was shelved last month after Dykstra published a Medium essay detailing emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse from an unnamed ex-boyfriend who was determined to be Hardwick. Actress Yvette Nicole Brown was set to fill in for Hardwick on The Walking Dead after show Talking Dead when it premieres in August, assuming the investigation was still pending. The statement AMC issued on Hardwick’s return is as follows:
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.
According to Variety, Brown will remain the interim host of the Talking Dead preview special on August 5 and Hardwick will return for the August 12 episode, following the The Walking Dead’s mid-season premiere.
