Hollywood has come down hard on actors accused of sexual assault and other various forms of abuse, and Chris Hardwick is the latest celebrity to see his career affected by some recent allegations. Just one day after Nerdist, the website Hardwick founded and once owned, scrubbed him from its website, AMC has decided to remove the actor from its programming. The network announced that Talking With Chris Hardwick will not be airing Season 2 at this time.
AMC's announcement came just a day before the Season 2 premiere of Talking With Chris Hardwick, which was filmed over a month ago and featured Donald Glover. AMC also made the announcement that Hardwick would be stepping aside from hosting all AMC and BBC related panels at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con. Deadline reported before the allegations against Hardwick became public, he had been announced to be the moderator of the Doctor Who panel, and was expected to make his usual appearance as host of The Walking Dead panel.
AMC's wording regarding Season 2 of Talking With Chris Hardwick means there's a chance Season 2 may still air or be released should the allegations made against Hardwick turn out to be false or misleading. Additionally, the network made no mention of whether or not Hardwick would return to host The Walking Dead's long-running aftershow Talking Dead. Of course it is also feasible AMC will drop Chris Hardwick from the program, and probably find a replacement host for the show. AMC originally created Talking With Chris Hardwick to further capitalize on the success of Talking Dead, which was the number one talk show on television at the time the spinoff was announced.
AMC and Nerdist's decision to distance their brands from Chris Hardwick is based on the allegations made by the celebrity's ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. Dykstra alleged in a blog post that Hardwick was abusive during their three year relationship, and did things such as make her sever her ties with other men, restrict her from leaving the house at night, and sexually assault her. Dykstra never specifically referred to Hardwick by name in her post, although left several hints throughout to lead many to believe he was the person she was referring to. Hardwick has since responded to the allegations and told a different side of the relationship, and stated that he never sexually assaulted her at any time.
Talking With Chris Hardwick was originally supposed to premiere Season 2 Sunday, June 17 at 11:00 p.m. ET, but has now suspended the show from airing. For a look at some other shows making a premiere that night, or in the coming months, be sure to head over to and bookmark our summer premiere guide.
