Superfan Yvette Nicole Brown Takes Over Temporarily as Host of The Talking Dead

It’s been a minute since fans of The Walking Dead family have gotten any good news, but here’s a little something to rejoice over — The Talking Dead lives on, and superfan-actress Yvette Nicole Brown will be taking over hosting duties. For now, at least.

AMC confirmed the news in a statement over the weekend (via Variety), saying, “Yvette Nicole Brown will step in as an interim guest host of The Walking Dead Season 9 Preview Special on August 5 and Talking Dead when it returns following the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead on August 12, as we work to complete our assessment related to Chris Hardwick.”

More: Finally, the Season 9 Walking Dead Spoiler We Needed

The fate of The Talking Dead has been up in the air since June, when Hardwick’s ex Chloe Dykstra wrote an explosive editorial in Medium about being abused by a former boyfriend. Although Dykstra didn’t specifically name Hardwick, details throughout the piece left little doubt. Hardwick adamantly denies the allegations.

Following swift controversy and calls for Hardwick’s firing, AMC suspended Hardwick’s hosting duties — and, presumably, The Talking Dead.

However, rumors that Brown could be tapped to temporarily take Hardwick’s place began picking up steam quickly. That theory gained even more traction two weeks ago when AMC initially announced that Brown would be taking Hardwick’s place as the moderator for the San Diego Comic-Con panels for The Walking Dead and The Talking Dead.
Brown is a familiar face for fans of the franchise. The Community actress is a frequent guest on The Talking Dead, where the self-professed superfan weighs in always holds her own among Hardwick and stars of TWD.

More: The Walking Dead Is Ending, & The Creator Knows How

Choosing Brown as The Talking Dead’s interim host is a smart move on AMC’s part because, honestly, who doesn’t want to hear Brown’s on-point insight every week? Should Hardwick be deemed unable to return to his hosting duties, the network has found a replacement fans should be happy to see slide into the gig fulltime.