Chris Hardwick is coming back to NBC, too

In the wake of Dykstra’s essay, Hardwick issued a series of denials; meanwhile, AMC, which plays host to his chat show Talking With Chris Hardwick and his Walking Dead aftershow, Talking Dead, made several moves to distance itself from him while it underwent an investigation of Dykstra’s allegations. That “comprehensive assessment” concluded last week, with AMC announcing that Hardwick would be returning to host Talking Dead.

That was apparently good enough for NBC, which also plays host to Hardwick’s Plinko-esque game show The Wall. While the network hasn’t commented on Dykstra’s essay—or about whether it conducted its own investigation into its producing partner’s activities, or just waited to see what AMC would say—it’s hard not to read the guest-casting of Hardwick on AGT as a vote of confidence, in his viability as an audience draw if nothing else.