Chris Hardwick: Top Nerd On TV

Sporting a Space Invader holiday sweater, Chris Hardwick, founder of Nerdist Industries, better known as host of both AMC's AMCX The Talking Dead and Comedy Central's VIAB new gameshow @midnight, appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box Tuesday morning to discuss the unique format of his “after show” for The Walking Dead and its runaway success as well as the profitability of social media in relation to his new comedy show. With The Talking Dead's ratings toppling the numbers that many of the scripted shows and sporting events at major networks pull in, Hardwick's “isolated version of the water cooler,” as he calls it, offers viewers of The Walking Dead, AMC's hyper successful post-apocalyptic drama, a chance get “therapy” from the dense plots and character development the show offers. He went on to say that many viewers can process their feelings through vicariously experiencing a a conversation about the show with actors, writers, and others with an invested stake in The Walking Dead. Related: AMC's 'The Walking Dead' Setting a New Horror Standard His other show, @midnight, was recently picked up for four nights a week by Comedy Central, and airs after The Colbert Report. “In England they have a lot of these types of panel shows, and that's essentially what it is. It's a panel show disguised as a gameshow,” said Hardwick. “It's not a real gameshow, but we're using the structure of a gameshow to comb through any social media, not just Twitter, but you know, Yelp comments and Google+ and reddit and YouTube and anywhere where there is a social [element].” Hardwick noted that it's truly just a show about putting hilarious comics to the task of poking fun at silly social media, and that by utilizing the Internet, they theoretically have an infinite pool of resources to draw from. Jason Cunningham had no position with the mentioned entities while writing this article. Visit Jason on Twitter at @JasonCunningham and @Benzinga.