Yvette Nicole Brown tapped as interim Talking Dead host
In a surprise announcement late Friday, AMC taps Yvette Nicole Brown to fill as the host of Talking Dead while the Chris Hardwick investigation continues.
Yvette Nicole Brown will take over as interim host of Talking Dead for the immediate future as AMC continues to investigate allegations against Chris Hardwick. Brown will also serve as the host of The Walking Dead Season 9 Preview Special in August.
Brown had already been tapped to moderate AMC’s The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead panels at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, but now THR reports that the network has extended her hosting duties while AMC continues their investigation of Hardwick. The Walking Dead Season 9 Preview Special is set to air August 5 while Talking Dead returns following the mid-season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead on August 12, suggesting that the network doesn’t expect their investigation to be done before then.
The announcement comes ahead of the cast’s appearance at SDCC next week. Hardwick stepped down from moderating the panels after the allegations from former girlfriend Chloe Dykstra came to light. Brown has insisted on social media that she is not looking to take over Hardwick’s job, rather she’s “filling in for a friend.”
I will say this once. I am filling in for a friend, which I have done before. I am not jockeying for a job. I have enough of my own. It is my prayer that God's Will is done in the midst of this process & that everyone is okay. My character is known & sound. Nothing has changed.
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) July 4, 2018
Brown is a frequent guest on Talking Dead. The self-described “superfan” brings her journals full of notes so that she can help analyze the latest episode of the show. There’s no question that Brown is qualified to step in for Hardwick, and she’ll bring a new perspective and voice to the show to be sure. However, the decision to suspend Hardwick was met with ire from many Chris Hardwick fans who believed AMC acted hastily in removing him from his hosting duties. That could prove challenging for Brown even though she’s made it clear she is just helping out on a temporary basis.
There’s no indication of where AMC is with their investigation or when they expect it to be concluded. Given the timing of the announcement, AMC seems to be providing this information now so as to focus completely on The Walking Dead and Fear during SDCC.
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Undead Walking will continue to monitor this story and bring you updates as they become available.