There are truly few humans who have dominated the recent wave of pop culture obsession like Chris Hardwick. The former MTV host and radio announcer has been at the forefront of the integration of social media and entertainment for years. As founder of Nerdist Industries, Hardwick has been able to tap into what people want to see, read and listen to online. Hardwick has again been rewarded for his efforts by signing a new deal with Comedy Central to host a late night chat show following The Colbert Report.
Chat shows seem to be Hardwicks specialty at the moment. He hosts the ratings monster Walking Dead recap show on AMC, The Talking Dead. His podcast, The Nerdist is also one of iTunes leading chat podcasts where he has interviewed icons ranging from Mel Brooks to Tom Hanks. In the last year Hardwick had signed a deal with BBC to host a live adaptation of the Nerdist podcast.
Hardwick brings his specific audience of "nerds" to an already stacked lineup that includes the aforementioned Colbert and The Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart. With Jay Leno primed to leave The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon battling for late-night ratings, it makes sense for Comedy Central to throw their name into the late night business.
According to Deadline Hardwick's show will be unique due to its heavy integration of social media into its regular broadcast. The specifics of this remain to be seen, but could involve live tweeting, Google voice integration or Facebook polling. The show will be produced by Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant, known to many comedy fans for their involvement in The State and the Comedy Central cult-hit, Reno 911. The show will also be produced by Will Ferrell's Funny Or Die corporation. In the ratings race that is late night television and social media integration, a union of these heavy hitters could prove to be a great success.
