'The Walking Dead' Is Coming Back for Season 7, After-Show 'Talking Dead' Also Renewed
Hold on to your heads, Walking Dead fans, there’s more to come!
AMC’s zombie drama is in the middle of one of its most intense seasons yet, and it won’t be slowing down anytime soon. The network announced on Friday that it is renewing The Walking Dead -- which has been TV’s top rated drama among adults 18-49 for the past three years -- for a seventh season.
The network also renewed the live after-show, Talking Dead, hosted by Chris Hardwick. Scott M. Gimple will return as Walking Dead’s showrunner and executive producer.
"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, said on Friday. "All joking aside, we are so proud to share these shows with fans who have been so passionate, communicative and engaged. 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."
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SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read any further if you’re not caught up!
Walking Dead fans have to be thrilled at the news, but the big question that remains after Sunday’s episode is whether or not Glenn (Steve Yeun) will be around for season seven. The beloved character was apparently killed off in the latest ep after being pinned underneath Nicholas’ lifeless body and (apparently) devoured by a herd of walkers.
But is he truly dead? ETonline’s been digging for clues to prove it’s not so, which include everything from Yeun not appearing on Talking Dead -- killed off characters usually do -- to Lauren Cohen, who plays Glenn’s wife, Maggie, dishing about her on-screen husband’s "strengths."
"It is so stressful!" Cohen said of watching her on-screen husband escape death time and time again. "And we definitely see that continue to happen this season, but she can't fight it. It's like, to grow into a mountain, you have to climb it, and that's his strength, and we each have to continue to take risks. That's a big theme for Maggie and Glenn as a couple and Maggie and Glenn individually this year: realizing that sometimes you can't do everything you want to do, and you can't be as impulsive or risk-taking."
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Cohen’s answer to the question, "Could Maggie survive without Glenn?" might be even more telling of the fan favorite’s fate.
"I think what's happened is this sense that you aren't just living for yourself anymore -- you're living for the people around you. I don’t think she thought she could survive it after she lost Beth, but something higher -- her God of whatever demonization -- is just something that keeps her going and I think that's the human desire to survive," Cohen told ETonline. "But I really hope we don’t have to answer that question this year."
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