With the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead Season 6 debuting on February 14, 2016, some fans are wondering just how much longer Rick and company have left in the post-apocalyptic world brought to life on AMC. After all, The Walking Dead's next season will match Mad Men as AMC's longest-running series, and the network did just debut the franchise's first spinoff series — Fear the Walking Dead — last October. So how much longer will we be left following Rick and the rest of the gang? There's no definite answer, unfortunately.
"I will tell you we are not actively talking about the end of The Walking Dead," said AMC network chief Charlie Collier in an interview with Vulture. "We’re talking about how to keep this No. 1 show on television feeling as fresh as it does in season six."
Of course, we've now seen five seasons of Rick moving from location to location thinking it to be the next "home," only to encounter some deranged psychopath who ruins their plans. I've talked to multiple fans who are starting to get a little fatigued.
"As a brand, we’re very sensitive to making sure that every aspect of it feels fresh and original, and that it’s not treated in any way that’s derivative or taken for granted. Our planning is current and future-focused, and it is not focused on the end at this time," Collier added.
"What’s so fascinating about The Walking Dead is that Robert Kirkman set out to do something that proved to be remarkably brilliant in a couple of very fundamental ways," said programming boss Joel Stillerman. "One is he wanted to use the world of the zombie apocalypse as a way to get at social commentary. That was always the killer app for the show. But if you ask Robert what his motivations were for writing The Walking Dead, he would say, “I loved zombie movies, but I just felt like the worst part of them was always the ending. You always had to manufacture some ending.” So he set out to write this totally open-ended story, and the proof of that is in how vibrant the comics are."
Stillerman had a broader idea of how long The Walking Dead show could continue. "The answer to how long the show will go on in some way is directly correlated with the health of the storytelling in the comics," he said. "Those comics are firing on all cylinders.
"He still writes every line of dialogue in those books, and is as engaged as he was when I think he was sitting around in Kentucky writing the first issue. That is very much part of the DNA of the show. He sort of felt like, in real life, this goes on for a very long time. We’re along for that ride."
AMC has already renewed The Walking Dead for a seventh season. Season 6 returns on February 14th.
[Vulture]
