We recently reported that @Midnight, the Comedy Central quiz-and-hashtags show hosted by Chris Hardwick, is coming to an end. While that may be a source of sadness—or relief, who knows, perhaps you agree with Hardwick, who thinks it has run its course—fear not: Now the Nerdist creator and stand-up is taking his after-show tactics and applying them to his very own talk show. Talking With Chris Hardwick may look like Talking Dead, Talking Saul, and the other series-centric discussions he leads—as well it should, they’re all filmed on the same set—but it’s a free-form chat show, similar to his podcast, where Hardwick brings on interesting people to talk about interesting things.
The series returns on Sunday night, July 23, at 11 p.m. ET, with special guest Damon Lindelof. He’ll be talking Lost, The Leftovers, and more, but to tide you over, here’s an exclusive clip with Lindelof, discussing meeting J.J. Abrams, creating the pilot for their hit ABC show Lost, and the stress of getting your dream job—but most importantly, the showrunner describes walking into the editing bay for the first time, only to run into Tom Cruise.