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Chris Hardwick Returning to AMC and ‘Talking’ After a ‘Comprehensive Assessment’ By the Network

Hardwick, who had been suspended following sexual assault allegations, will be back hosting "Talking Dead" when it returns on August 12.
Chris HardwickAMC presents 'Talking Dead' special edition for 'The Walking Dead' Season 7 TV series, Los Angeles, USA - 23 Oct 2016
Chris Hardwick
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Chris Hardwick is returning to AMC. The host was suspended by the network after allegations of abuse by an ex-girlfriend, but in a statement on Wednesday, the network said it had completed an investigation into Hardwick.

“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,'” the network said. “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.”

This means Hardwick will now be back as host of “Talking Dead” when it returns on August 12. Yvette Nicole Brown had been tapped to fill in for Hardwick during the assessment process, but will now appear as a guest on the premiere episode instead. Brown will remain as host of a preview special of “The Walking Dead” Season 9. It’s unclear when his talk show “Talking with Chris Hardwick” will return, as it’s a summer series, and meant to bridge the gap between seasons of “Talking Dead.”

Hardwick was accused of sexual abuse by ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra in a Medium essay written last month. In the piece, Dykstra detailed an abusive, years-long relationship with an unnamed man whom readers quickly deduced was Hardwick.

After the post, AMC yanked Hardwick’s “Talking With Chris Hardwick” off the air and Hardwick stepped down from hosting AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” San Diego Comic-Con panels.

Hardwick’s name has also been removed from the website of Nerdist Industries, which is owned by Legendary Entertainment.

Hardwick has denied Dykstra’s accusations, writing that their relationship “was not perfect” but that “at no time did I sexually assault her.”

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