BACK FROM THE DEAD

Chris Hardwick Returns to ‘Talking Dead’ After Abuse Allegations

AMC concluded that “returning Chris to work is the appropriate step.”

Chris Hardwick will return to the popular AMC after-show Talking Dead, and his own talk show Talking with Chris Hardwick, after parent company AMC concluded its investigation into allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse leveled against him by ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. Entertainment Weekly reported Wednesday that Hardwick’s show was pulled in mid-June, after Dykstra published a Medium essay alleging abuse from a boyfriend that many presumed to be Hardwick. Hardwick also voluntarily withdrew from moderating a series of Walking Dead and Doctor Who-related panels on which he was scheduled to speak. AMC sided with Hardwick in its Wednesday statement, writing that “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.” Entertainment Weekly notes that Hardwick will return to Talking Dead on August 12, and there is no word yet as to when Talking with Chris Hardwick will return.