Earlier this year, AMC announced plans to double down on “The Walking Dead” with a companion series in 2015 that may act as an indirect spinoff. And when “The Walking Dead” Season 4 opened with 16.11 million viewers, a renewal announcement was a foregone conclusion.
Even AMC President Charlie Collier joked about the inevitability of “Walking Dead’s” return during his official announcement of its renewal for a fifth season.
“We are very happy to make what has to be one of the most anti-climactic renewal announcements ever,” said Collier “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.”
The announcement also noted that Scott Gimple will remain onboard as “The Walking Dead” showrunner for season 5. Last year’s announcement of “The Walking Dead” Season 4 shocked industry observers when Glenn Mazzara’s departure as showrunner was announced. Prior to that, Frank Darabont was forcibly removed from the showrunner position by AMC. Up to this point, no one has remained the “Walking Dead’ showrunner longer than a season and a half.
Presumably “The Walking Dead” Season 5 will consist of a 16 episode order that will be split in half between Fall 2014 and Winter 2015.
