Chris Hardwick’s The Nerdist to Return to BBC America

NEW YORK: BBC America has greenlit production for five specials of The Nerdist, based on the podcast of comedian Chris Hardwick.

A pilot hosted by Hardwick premiered in September as part of BBC America’s comedy block Ministry of Laughs. The five specials—two hour-long episodes and three half-hour episodes—will air next year, except for the first, which premieres December 24 as a year-end review. The Nerdist will feature panelists from LA to London, including celebrity guests, comedians, bloggers and podcasters, in a roundtable discussion. It is produced by Nerdist Industries and Comcast Entertainment Studios, with Chris Hardwick, Alex Murray, Jay James, Gary Snegaroff and K.P. Anderson serving as executive producers. The Nerdist podcast was named one of the best comedy podcasts by Rolling Stone, and is a top ten comedy podcast on iTunes.

Perry Simon, the general manager of channels for BBC Worldwide America, said, “The Nerdist pilot, which featured The Doctor, Matt Smith, and Craig Ferguson joining the Nerdist team as guests, earned strong buzz and was an excellent pairing with the midseason premiere of Doctor Who. We couldn’t be happier that we will continue working with Chris and are excited that The Nerdist will be a part of our biggest events over the next year.”

Hardwick commented, “We had mammoth amounts of fun making The Nerdist for BBC America earlier this year with Craig Ferguson and Matt Smith and can’t wait to make more nerdy nerd nerdness in the upcoming specials. I thank BBC America for allowing people to further consume our wee podcast with their eyes.”