AMC Renews The Walking Dead for a Third Season

AMC announced yesterday the renewal of The Walking Dead for a third season. Season 2 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).

About AMC
AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Killing and Hell on Wheels. AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC's Can't Get Enough and AMC's Crazy About. Available in more than 97 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.

About FOX International Channels
FOX International Channels (FIC) is News Corporation's international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 300+ wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, factual, sports and movie channels across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, in 35 languages. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 400 million subscribing households (1 billion cumulative) worldwide. We also operate a global online advertising unit, .FOX (pronounced "dot-fox") specialized in online video and display, and four TV production houses. In operation since: August 14, 1993.

Don't miss an all new episode of The Walking Dead on Tuesdays at 21:15 CAT

5 ways of getting ready for the The Walking Dead Season 2

1. Check out the Trailor.

2. Watch behind the scenes video with comments from the cast.

3. Enter the If zombies came competition on Twitter by adding the #ifzombiescame and saying what you would do if they came?
4. Keep up with the latest news about the show by liking The Walking Dead Season 2 on FaceBook and follow on Twitter.
5. Make sure the doors are locked and the Tv remote hidden.

The Walking Dead returns with a special 90-minutes premiere this tuesday, 18th Oct 21:15 CAT only on FX

New Walking Dead Season 2 Trailer

We’re just a week away from the Africa premiere of The Walking Dead on FX! Zombie fans feast your eyes on this brand new season 2 teaser to feed your appetites until the big launch:

The Walking Dead season 2 starts on Tuesday 18th October at 21:15 CAT on FX.

Behind The Scenes: Inside The Walking Dead’s Zombie Wardrobe

Go behind the scenes in the zombie wardrobe in this new Walking Dead video:

New Walking Dead Season 2 Teaser

Hungry for seconds? Check out this teaser trailer for a glimpse of the gripping new series of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead returns to FX on Tuesday 18th October at 21:15 CAT.

New Season 2 Images: The Zombies Are Back!

Shotguns at the ready! The ‘walkers’ are back and they’re hungrier than ever.

Feast your eyes on these new images of the zombies set to strike in season 2.

The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 1 Stills

Last season left us nailed to our seats as the survivors of the zombie apocalypse fled an epic explosion at the CDC. As we enter the new season the survivors must make their way out of Atlanta to escape the tribe of ‘walkers’ that have taken over the city. But with the stakes even higher, what new problems will they face in their fight for survival?

Feast your eyes on these images from the premiere episode of The Walking Dead season 2 for a sneak-peek at what’s in store for the survivors.

Don’t miss the gripping season 2 premiere on October 18th at 21:15 CAT, only on FX.

Interview: Production Designer Greg Melton On The Season 2 Set

The Walking Dead’s production designer Greg Melton reveals more about the season 2 set, his biggest challenges so far and how to survive a zombie apocalypse.

In Season 1, you created a devastated downtown Atlanta. For Season 2, you got a stretch of devastated highway. How did they compare?

They were pretty similar, actually as far as getting them organized, and doing your homework and getting the blocking and positioning of things that need to happen as the scene unfolds. We got really great cooperation down here from the Georgia Department of Transportation to shut down a big four-lane highway, which was the biggest thing — we needed something major. Once we had that, it was just a matter of trying to figure out how many cars would tell the story. I think at one point, on our biggest day, we put almost 200 vehicles into that set, which was over a quarter of a mile long.

And then you have to dress each of the vehicles…

Exactly. It’s all people who are fleeing, so they’re filled with bags and lots of stuff. And then it’s been sitting there for weeks, so we have to come through and do a real heavy aging pass on everything. And then we trashed the highway. Literally. We were dumping bags and bags of trash and things. Everywhere you could see. We created two or three wrecks with burnt grass in the median. I love doing sets like that because you just stand out there and you start putting things around. There are only so many floor plans you can do. And then you gotta stand there in that space and just make it happen.

What’s been the biggest challenge in Season 2?

The biggest challenge was to find the perfect farm. Ever since the end of the first season, everybody’s like “The Farm!” And I couldn’t even think about it: Are we gonna build it? Are we gonna find something? Are we gonna find half of something and build the other half? It really all takes place here. Having said that, once we got it, there were still things we had to work into it like building the barn and then putting a position in for the camp for everyone to hang out. So between the house and the barn and the camp we created this nice sort of triangle of action and story.

Did any work have to go into dressing the house, or are you shooting it as-is?

The exterior of the house, for the most part, we’re shooting as is. We ended up basically emptying the entire inside of the house and redressing it for our needs as Hershel’s farmhouse. But the exterior of the house was perfect the way it was.

Cinematographer David Boyd told us you designed the barn to look alive. What was the inspiration for that?

Initially there was some talk about maybe burning the barn, so I was real interested in giving the barn a kind of face. So it kind of had a personality and if we were going to do the burn it would be very dramatic to see this screaming face down in the meadow. But the approach, it’s much like with the house — the house at first glance is just sort of this beautiful setting and it’s a lovely farmhouse. And then at times, there are certain ways you can shoot it, or find an angle and it can look very disturbing and menacing. And I wanted the barn to have the same feeling. Like, “Oh isn’t that a lovely barn sitting out in the pasture,” and then to find that way to tilt it into that sort of horror — it’s an ominous, dreadful place.

The barn looks like it’s been there 100 years, but is actually brand new. How did you achieve that look?

We actually bought an old roof off of a barn down here in Georgia and we got this beautifully aged and rusted tin roof that’s been around for 80, 90 years. That aspect of it is old, but everything else is new. It’s literally delivered brand new wood, and then we just did our aging passes with it. I wanted it to not be too dark because we’re going to have nighttime work around it, so I kind of skewed it towards a more greyed out, washed out so it would catch moonlight.

Having dressed all these sets, do you know what you’d do in the event of an apocalypse?

Yeah. It’s interesting because as you go through this show you realize there’s really nowhere to run. That’s one thing I’ve learned about this apocalypse. And so I think I would probably hunker down in my own house and fortify it and try to ride it out. It’s not like there’s a hurricane coming that’s gonna destroy the house. It’s just, can you defend it? You might as well just stay put and protect yourself. Kind of the way Morgan did in the Pilot. He fortified the house and was able to live there and stay quiet. There’s something to be said for that in a zombie apocalypse. [Laughs] Be quiet.

Interview and Photo: AMC

The Walking Dead Season 2 Trailer