Chris Hardwick

Even though Chris Hardwick is partly responsible for launching the career of professional crackpot Jenny McCarthy – the pair hosted the MTV dating show Singled Out back in the halcyon 1990s – we still like him. He’s redeemed himself in the years since by launching Nerdist Industries, a network of podcasts and websites devoted to exploring geeky culture, and his hosting gig on Comedy Central’s @midnight provides some of the best late-night laughs for Twitter-addled attention spans. The nerdy version of Ryan Seacrest stops into Hard Rock this week to perform a stand-up set, likely focused on his passions for comic books, science fiction and Internet culture. Check out his 2012 Comedy Central hourlong special, Mandroid, for a preview. Points! – Thaddeus McCollum