On the day before Halloween night, when plenty of living people will be dressed as zombies, AMC announced that The Walking Dead has been picked up for an amazing seventh season. The network has also picked up Chris Hardwick’s post-show talk show Talking Dead.
The Walking Dead is only three episodes into season six. The Oct. 25 episode drew an astonishing 18.2 million total viewers in Live+3 numbers, with 12 million in the key 18-49 demographic. That means that it is the No. 1 series among the 18-49 demo, even including broadcast shows.
As for the latest episode of Talking Dead< it drew 7.3 million in live+3, including 4.6 million viewers in the 18-49 demo. It was the highest rated episode that was neither a season premiere or finale.
“All joking aside, we are so proud to share these shows with fans who have been so passionate, communicative and engaged,” AMC President Charlie Collier said in a statement. “We are grateful for and continually impressed by the talent, effort and excellence on continuous display by Robert Kirkman, Scott Gimple, Chris Hardwick and the many people with whom we partner to make these unique shows possible. The result: More Walking and Talking. Hooray.”
The Walking Dead is based on the comic series written by Robert Kirkman and was first developed for television by Frank Darabont. The current showrunner is Scott M. Gimble. The show also has one of the largest casts on television and features Andrew Lincoln as Rick, the leader of a group of zombie apocalypse survivors.
The series has also spawned the companion series Fear The Walking Dead, which will return for a second season next year.