Marking the cabler's latest attempt to enter the talk show foray.
Syfy is looking to return to the weekly talk show format.
The NBCUniversal-owned cable network announced Friday that it is teaming with Chris Hardwick to develop a weekly Nerdist News series.
The weekly half-hour format would be executive produced — but not hosted — by Hardwick (Talking Dead, @Midnight) and his Nerdist Industries cohort Brandon Monk.
A host has yet to be announced as deals have not yet been finalized.
The Syfy take would expand Nerdist News' format from its YouTube series, which is hosted by Jessica Chobot.
The new format would have the same tone and feel and celebrate all things nerdy including the latest trends and news in sci-fi, fantasy, media, tech, science and more.
For Syfy, the Nerdist series comes as the cabler tried last year to create a similar talk format hosted by Wil Wheaton that was canceled after 12 episodes. The Wil Wheaton Project featured the Star Trek alum dissecting sci-fi film, TV, video games, viral videos and news of interest to the geek community in a half-hour series from Pilgrim Studios.
The Nerdist series comes as Syfy is making a concerted push to bring the sci-fi back to the network with scripted series including 12 Monkeys, Z Nation and more.
Should the Nerdist News pilot move forward, Hardwick would have series on three different cable networks including Comedy Central's @midnight as well as AMC's Walking Dead post-show talker Talking Dead.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
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