The Walking Dead Is Staying Alive for a Sixth Season

AMC’s hit zombie thriller The Walking Dead will return to the small screen for a sixth season, the network announced Tuesday — before the fifth season had even hit the airwaves.

“In advance of Sunday’s season five premiere, AMC proudly confirms a sixth season order of this extraordinary series,” reads a statement from AMC President Charlie Collier, who revealed that many of the show’s original creators, including executive producer Scott Gimple, would return to produce the sixth season. “There’s plenty more Dead ahead thanks to their impressive, collective effort,” Collier said.

AMC backed its enthusiasm with metrics of audience engagement on social media, where the show has accumulated 30 million Facebook fans and 2.7 million followers on Twitter.