It seemed like you couldn't throw a stone at Comic-Con without hitting a panel Chris Hardwick was moderating. The man was everywhere. And that's not such a bad thing, for those of us who like his brand of comedy and geeky expertise. Moderating Comic-Con panels is just one entry on Hardwick's resume. In addition to hosting the Nerdist podcast, he also hosts the Walking Dead post-episode talk show Talking Dead, and it seems AMC is pleased enough with his involvement in that show to enlist his services for Talking Bad, the planned weekly live post-show for the final eight episodes of Breaking Bad.
We learned last Spring that Breaking Bad would be getting its own talk show Talking Bad. The series is scheduled to begin airing the same night Breaking Bad returns. But until this weekend, we didn't know who would be hosting the event. Given the success of Talking Dead, we could only hope that Talking Bad would find a host capable of tackling each episode of Breaking Bad with the same knowledge and enthusiasm demonstrated by Chris Hardwick in the Walking Dead post-ep show.
If getting someone like Chris Hardwick to host Talking Bad was the goal, AMC really succeeded, as they've secured Hardwick himself for the gig. This exciting piece of news was announced this Sunday at the Breaking Bad Comic-Con panel.
Hardwick commented on the tonal difference between The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad when talking about his new gig…
“Breaking Bad will go down as one of the best shows in television history. Obviously, it’s tonally much different than The Walking Dead, and I will strive to give Breaking Bad the send off it deserves. I am honored to be able to give fans a peek behind the curtain for the last eight episodes so we can all say goodbye to it together. AMC will tell you that it’s because of the success of Talking Dead or my friendship with the BB cast that they asked me to host this, but I maintain it probably has more to do with my unmistakable resemblance to Jesse Pinkman, BITCH.”
As a fan of Hardwick, I consider this great news, especially if he knows as much about Breaking Bad as he does about The Walking Dead. Then again, I was in the audience of multiple panels moderated by Hardwick at Comic-Con last week, and there doesn't seem to be much the guy doesn't know about. Thinking on his feet and demonstrating the art of good banter appear to be well in the man's wheelhouse, no matter the subject. So I'll be excited to see how handles Talking Bad.
Word that Hardwick is hosting Talking Bad makes me hopeful that the talk show will follow a similar format as Talking Dead in its focus on each episode's highlights, appearances by special guests (celebrity fans and people involved in the show) and speculation about what's ahead. AMC's blog suggests as much with its description. Talking Dead has been a great way to pick through each episode right after it airs and appreciate the best the installment has to offer. Hopefully the same will be the case with Talking Bad. We'll find out August 11 when Breaking Bad returns and Talking Bad debuts.
