The Walking Dead gets renewed for 3rd Season!

Rejoice, Walking Dead fans! With the buzz and awesome fan reception given to the first two episodes of the second season of The Walking Dead, AMC has broke out the news that a 3rd season is confirmed and will make its way soon after all 13 episodes of the current season ends! This is BIG and EXCITING news for fans of Robert Kirkman's epic and ongoing zombie comic series, as this will give viewers a chance to see more things reimagined from the source material into television. Granted, season two of The Walking Dead has only aired two episodes, and the TV series has more or less drastically departed in so many ways from the events depicted in the books. However, it still retains the core theme and story of survival and tension, as a group of survivors led by officer Rick Grimes desperately search for some form of hope or humanity left amidst the zombie apocalypse that has all but destroyed any sense of civilization left in the world.

Here's the official press release from AMC after the jump. Thanks goes to Slash Film for the post and Update!

"AMC announced today the renewal of “The Walking Dead” for a third season. Season two continues to deliver the strongest telecasts for any drama in basic cable history against Adults 18-49 shattering a basic cable record set nearly 10 years ago for a single drama telecast (“The Dead Zone”). “The Walking Dead” is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. Glen Mazzara serves as series’ showrunner. Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert and Frank Darabont are executive producers. Greg Nicotero is a co-executive producer.


 “Today we are pleased to announce that the ‘dead’ shall live as we proudly renew ‘The Walking Dead’ for a third season on AMC and, globally, with our terrific partners at Fox International Channels,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s President. “We are thankful for everyone’s contribution in front of and behind the camera as we continue to make ‘The Walking Dead’ a unique television experience. And, we are so proud as it continues to set viewership records around the world.”


FOX International Channels rolled-out its global launch for “The Walking Dead” this weekend, with premieres on FIC’s cable networks in Europe, Asia, Latin American, Africa and the Middle East. The series’ international premieres delivered equally impressive results in all major international TV markets, and broke pay-TV ratings’ records across the world. Over 10 million viewers in 122 countries tuned in live to watch the second season premiere of this highly anticipated returning drama. And, FIC will once again be the international broadcasting partner for the series with Entertainment One continuing to distribute in non-FIC markets.


“Partnering with AMC on ‘The Walking Dead’ took some guts”, said Sharon Tal Yguado, SVP of Scripted Programming at FIC. “But at the same time was the easiest programming decision we ever made. It’s rare to come across a groundbreaking TV project that is also attached to some of the best talent in town. ‘The Walking Dead’ was treated as a global event since day one and not only changed the traditional TV model but also changed our viewers’ TV experience. It is now officially a global addiction with millions of fans around the globe wanting more. We are delighted to give it to them.”


“The Walking Dead” secured a 2010 Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series – Drama and won the 2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup. The series tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home.


“The Walking Dead” received rave reviews from countless critics, both domestic and international, who heralded the series as “above all else, “The Walking Dead” hasn’t lost the most important ingredient in its strangely successful recipe: it’s thrilling” (The Hollywood Reporter), “…with Dead’s riveting cast of characters, the personal dynamics are almost as potent as the gory thrills” (Us Weekly), “The Walking Dead is a feast. Dig in.” (The Guardian, UK), “It doesn’t even take three minutes to realize that this series is setting standards” (Der Tagesspiegel, Germany)."


As the press release stated, there's been a surge of promotions for worldwide premieres of season 2 of The Walking Dead, with one happening last weekend on Saturday, October 22nd over at Glorietta 3 Park, Ayala Center Philippines.

Hosted by Fox Philippines, the venue was literred with hordes of the undead and fans watching a marathon of the entire Season 1, so you can just imagine the excitement for the premiere of S2E1, which happened later in the evening. I managed to scope the area and check for any signs of life myself... Dressed ast The Dark Knight Detective, Batman (yep, in cosplay costume and I came from another adjacent event). The pic above's just a teaser, so I'll save the story for another time and post here. I will say that the event was a BIG success, and everyone came out of it hungry for more zombie flesh. Right now, I''m real excited with the news that we're going to have a 3rd season coming. Despite the fact this is the first new season without Frank Darabont, I'm hoping and praying (quoting a line from Season 2) that it'll still be a great series.

Look forward to a new season of The Walking Dead soon!