Like The Walking Dead’s very own walkers, the show itself is hard to kill and keeps coming back for more. We are just four short days away from the season 7 premiere of television’s number one show, but AMC has already confirmed The Walking Dead has been renewed for an eighth season. While this is exciting news for fans, the announcement itself is not particularly shocking.
The Walking Dead first graced our television screens in 2010, and over the last six years we have latched onto our favorites characters and have seen the post-apocalyptic, walker-filled world greatly expand. At this point in this show, there are still major story lines in play (many of which have not even begun yet), and when season 7 premieres this Sunday, viewers will be meeting a host of new characters and communities; not to mention the fact a central character in Rick Grimes’ group has just been beaten to death by Negan’s bat, Lucille.
In other words, there is a lot of material in play right now. Even Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead comic books, has said there could easily be “twelve seasons of the show”, which is plenty of time for power dynamics to shift and for the world of the show to become bleaker than what we have previously seen. So AMC may have announced season 8 extremely early, but such news almost seemed inevitable. It also gives people who are unfamiliar with the show more of an opportunity to ask fans how a “show about zombies” has been on for so long.
The eighth season of The Walking Dead will kick off the show’s big 100th episode. The only reason they are not hitting this milestone sooner is because the first season only consisted of six episodes, while the second season ran for thirteen. Since then, however, the series has been hitting its steady mark of sixteen episodes a season, with a mid-season break following episode 8. The renewal of the show also spells good news for Chris Hardwick. Hardwick is the host of The Walking Dead’s hour long after-show entitled, Talking Dead.
AMC has confirmed season 8 of The Walking Dead will premiere in late 2017. Stay tuned to The Nerd Stash for more news!
