The cheapest, laziest grab for viewers has to be the reality show ploy where the cast of “Real Housewives” or “Jersey Shore” immediately rehashes what happened on a live show immediately following the taped episode. Well, it’s not just a reality show ploy any more: AMC will do the same thing with “The Walking Dead” this fall with a Chris Hardwick-hosted after-show called “Talking Dead.” WOOF.
Fans of The Walking Dead are incredibly engaged with every aspect of the show. They tweet, blog, and post comments in very large numbers, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to interact with the show in a way that they don’t currently have — a kind of live water cooler,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s SVP original programming, production and digital content.
Talking Dead will feature Hardwick talking to fans, actors, producers and TV enthusiasts, recapping that most recent Dead episode and taking questions and comments from viewers. “As an enormous fan of both The Walking Dead comic and television show, I pretty much begged for this job,” Hardwick said. [Deadline via ScreenJunkies]
Ugh. With this move, Chris Hardwick has gone from the nerdy, less-funny Joel McHale to the nerdy, less-gay Andy Cohen. No thanks. If I want to discuss “The Walking Dead,” I’ll do it the way it’s supposed to be done: on the Internet with a bunch of faceless strangers.