“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,” reads a statement from the network. “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.”
Hardwick will officially return as host of Talking Dead on Sunday, Aug. 12, immediately following the midseason premiere of Fear the Walking Dead.
Yvette Nicole Brown was set to fill in for Hardwick as the interim host of Talking Dead during his absence; she also moderated The Walking Dead‘s panel at San Diego Comic-Con last week, which had previously been assigned to Hardwick. She will still serve as guest host for The Walking Dead‘s Season 9 preview special (airing Aug. 5) and will be a guest for Hardwick’s return to Talking Dead next month.
Chloe Dykstra, an actress and former host for Nerdist, published a blog post in June accusing an unnamed ex of emotional and sexual abuse during their relationship; readers quickly connected her story to her relationship with Hardwick. He released a statement shortly after, denying her claims of sexual assault.