Chris Hardwick
Chris Hardwick just wants to make people laugh.
As host of the new Comedy Central show @midnight, Hardwick spends his nights behind a podium moderating an alternating trio of comedians delivering pop culture jokes and Internet-themed puns. @midnight is designed like a game show, with the contestants buzzing in answers to prompts and Hardwick awarding them with points, reminiscent of Whose Line Is It Anyway?
However, where the points on Whose Line are not structured into any sort of consistent rewards system, @midnight points are awarded with the goal of the show in mind: making people laugh.
Admittedly, the formula is mostly in Hardwick’s own head, the host said in an interview. But ultimately, he gives points for anything the comedians say that gets a positive response from him or the audience.
“Even if I don’t think something knocks it out of the park, if the crowd loves it, I’ll go ahead and give points,” Hardwick said.
In that vein, Hardwick said, @midnight is designed to feel like hanging out in your basement with a group of your buddies — everyone just cracking jokes and trying to make one another laugh. Hardwick and the panelists interact like close friends, feeding off of the show’s prompts as well as one another.
The heavy use of social media and the Internet reinforces the communal aspect of @midnight. Though executive producers Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant originally designed the show to focus primarily on Twitter, Hardwick helped expand the material to include a multitude of social media platforms. Any site featuring social interactions can gain @midnight’s attention, he said, including sites such as Facebook, eBay, OkCupid and Reddit.
The show’s Internet focus reflects Hardwick’s status as a proud, self-proclaimed nerd. Though he decided to quit gaming — an obsession he said he worked to break at about the same time he gave up alcohol — deep down he remains an avid video game enthusiast. His career boasts a lineup of nerd-themed roles: He’s hosted companion talk shows Talking Dead and Talking Bad; he’s voiced characters for animated adventure series like The Batman, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and The Legend of Korra; his popular news and lifestyle podcast is even called “Nerdist.”
“I feel like my whole career is just a playpen of different areas of things that I love,” Hardwick said.
Hardwick’s nerdy love of the Internet fuels the energy of the show. Segments such as “Name That Vine,” “Sweet Emoji” and “Texts From Last Night” goad comedians into digital-themed jokes. One particular segment, “#HashtagWars,” allows the audience to participate by tweeting with the night’s comical hashtag. Often, the hashtags end up trending on Twitter.
Especially notable is the show’s lax idea of competition. Though @midnight technically works like a game show, Hardwick said, the points are nothing more than a means to give the comedians momentum; he awards points even to jokes made outside of the game segments’ constraints, as long as the audience thinks they’re funny. At heart, the show’s competition is good natured and unaggressive, and Hardwick tries to steer clear of excessive put-downs and trash talk.
“There are definitely topics that I would never go near onstage because I know what bums people out,” Hardwick said. “Why would I want to bum people out? I’m a comic.”
Hardwick’s particular brand of humor has always been easygoing and even-tempered. Unlike many other comedians, he tries to avoid the sneering insults and graphic sexuality that mark much of modern humor. Instead, he addresses pop culture news and social trends with an amicable attitude.
“Some people think that as a comic, you have to go light fires,” Hardwick said. “I think a certain amount of fire-lighting is fine, but I also want people to feel good.”
@midnight is still a young show, having only premiered in October before being picked up for a full season, which began in January. Despite the show’s short time on air, its quick success has drawn entertainers such as Judd Apatow, “Weird Al” Yankovic, David Spade and the Sklar Brothers to compete. Hardwick hopes to organize more themed episodes, like Jan. 27’s reunion of the former cast of ’90s MTV sketch comedy show The State.
Hardwick expects @midnight to get increasingly personal as it develops and as the audience gets to know the show better.
“It’s a journey you take with the audience,” Hardwick said.
