Just in time for Halloween, “The Walking Dead” has been renewed for a seventh season, AMC announced Friday.
In addition, AMC has renewed “Talking Dead,” the live after-show hosted by Chris Hardwick. Last Sunday’s “Talking Dead” was its highest-rated episode ever that was not a premiere or a finale, delivering 7.3 million viewers, including 4.6 million in the advertiser coveted adults 18-49 demographic in live-plus-three ratings.
The Oct. 25 episode of “The Walking Dead” delivered 18.2 million viewers in live-plus-three, 12 million of which were in the key demo.
For Season 7, Scott M. Gimple will return as the series’ showrunner and executive producer, along with executive producers Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero and Tom Luse.
“Thank goodness someone had a Magic 8-Ball with them in our many long internal meetings about these renewals. When, on the third shake, ‘without a doubt’ filled the murky blue screen, we knew we had to proceed with new seasons of ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Talking Dead,’” Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios, said.
“All joking aside, we are so proud to share these shows with fans who have been so passionate, communicative and engaged,” he continued. “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.”
Since last year’s premiere, “The Walking Dead” has gained 5.5 million new fans across social media, now tracking with an audience of nearly 40 million. Instagram has surfaced as “The Walking Dead’s” fastest-growing social platform, with the show capturing more than 8% of the industry’s engagement so far this season, up 25 percent from last year.