Deadline reports today that AMC has found a replacement moderator for its upcoming Walking Dead panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, with former Community star Yvette Nicole Brown taking the space recently vacated by Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick. Hardwick stepped down from his regular moderating duties last month, after his ex-girlfriend, actor and model Chloe Dykstra, wrote a Medium post describing an abusive relationship with a former partner and podcast host turned media CEO, one that most people have assumed was intended to be Hardwick. AMC has said the former Nerdist star left his normal Comic-Con duties voluntarily while the allegations are being investigated, although it also pulled the second-season premiere of his talk show, Talking With Chris Hardwick, at the same time.
Brown is a regular on Hardwick’s Walking Dead aftershow, cheerfully gabbing about the show’s latest eviscerations, decapitations, Daryl hijinks, etc. Now she’ll taking that fan fervor up to The Big Show of professional enthusiasm, Comic-Con’s fabled, sweaty fame factory, Hall H, for the show’s big annual panel. There’s already speculation that the move is intended to set up the possibility of Brown taking over Talking Dead if Hardwick and AMC stay estranged; meanwhile, there’s still no word on who’ll be taking over the Doctor Who panel Hardwick was also scheduled to host.
San Diego Comic-Con runs this year from July 19 to July 22.