AMC’s executives once hinted that The Walking Dead may run as many as 12 seasons or more. Given the continued ratings success of the original series, that’s becoming more and more likely. Now, a week before the seventh season premiere, AMC has ensured that The Walking Dead will be back for an eighth season in 2018.
The official announcement came late last night, as AMC acknowledged that The Walking Dead would return in October 2018 for its eighth season, which means that the second half of that season will spill into winter 2019. As it turns out, the first episode of season 8 will also be the 100th episode of the series.
In a statement, AMC’s Charlie Collier channeled a little Negan before congratulating series creator Robert Kirkman, and showrunner Scott Gimple. “’Eeny, meeny, miny, more.’ What a joy to partner with Robert Kirkman, Scott Gimple and some of the hardest-working people in television to bring The Walking Dead to the fans. And, most important, thanks to those fans for breathing life into this remarkable series right along with us.”
Related: AMC Will Run an 88-Hour ‘The Walking Dead’ Marathon This Month
Kirkman started The Walking Dead comic book series with artist and co-creator, Tony Moore in 2003. However, the bulk of the series has been drawn by artist (and recently named British Comics Laureate) Charlie Adlard. The comic is still one of the top-sellers for Image Comics, and it is far ahead of the show. That means that there are still many years worth of stories ahead, once the current storyline with Negan plays out on television.
But just because characters have survived in the comics doesn’t mean that they will be safe on the show. The TV series has frequently mashed up character fates to keep readers and newer fans from guessing who will die next. Considering the current cliffhanger, that has actually created some suspense for the seventh season premiere on Sunday, October 23.
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