“The Walking Dead” will return to AMC for a fifth season, according to a very unsurprising announcement by AMC yesterday.
The ratings-busting drama was last season’s biggest scripted show, with the third season finale drawing in 12.4 million viewers. The fourth season premiere shattered that record after attracting 16.1 million viewers, “The Walking Dead’s” highest-rated episode ever. The series continues to hold its own, evident by its monster premiere numbers, which confirms that it’s still TV’s top show in the age 18-40 demographic, according to Deadline.
“We are very happy to make what has to be one of the most anticlimactic renewal announcements ever: ‘The Walking Dead’ is renewed for a fifth season,” AMC president Charlie Collier said in a statement. “This is a show that has erased traditional distinctions between cable and broadcast. Its expanding base of passionate fans has grown every season, most recently—and most notably—with the season four premiere earlier this month, which broke viewership records for the series and became the biggest non-sports telecast in cable history. On behalf of the incredible team on both sides of the camera, thank you to the fans and here’s to more Dead.”
The announcement also revealed that Scott Gimple will return as the series show runner — a role the show’s longtime writer took over after the sudden exit of Glenn Mazzara in late 2012. He will also serve as executive producer alongside Gale Anne Hurd and Robert Kirkman, who created the comic series on which the TV show is based.
Not only will AMC continue to capitalize on the zombie apocalypse by renewing “The Walking Dead” for a fifth season, but the network recently announced it is developing a companion series to the show based on a new storyline and new characters from “TWD” mastermind Robert Kirkman.
“The Walking Dead” airs on AMC on Sundays 9pm EST and stars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Chad Coleman and Sonequa Martin-Green, Scott Wilson, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey, and Emily Kinney.
