Despite losing its original chief showrunner, Frank Darabont, after only one season on the air, the ever popular zombie drama series The Walking Dead - alongside the recently established spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead - has become a powerhouse success on parent network AMC. Currently heading into season 7, the hit show is all set to feature original comic book mainstay Negan - as portrayed by frequent genre actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) - to its roster of post-apocalyptic survivors.
Given the surprising longevity of the original series adapted from the best-selling comic book franchise created by Robert Kirkman, it should perhaps come as no surprise that anticipation leading up to the premiere of season 7 is the center of significant viewer attention and anticipation. That being said, it would appear that AMC president and CEO, Josh Sapan, is quite pleased with the continuing success of The Walking Dead, and sees the show extending well into the future.
According to The Wrap, Sapan spoke openly about his plans for The Walking Dead franchise moving forward at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, and made it known that he believes the show has the legs to last for quite some time to come. In regards to the the show’s ongoing legacy, Sapan stated:
“[Star Trek] came and went three times. We do think that we have a franchise [in The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead] that is one of the rare franchises that you occasionally come across in what we do for a living.”
Further adding that he believes The Walking Dead could continue to be on the air for “many, many more years,” Sapan appears to believe that Kirkman’s blockbuster property has the ability to spawn plenty of material to keep the franchise going for several more seasons and series to come. As far as making sure that the program continues according to plan, Sapan remarked:
Citing an additional comfort with the comparative success of fellow AMC original series Preacher and Into the Badlands, Sapan’s certainty that The Walking Dead can continue on for a long, long time is certainly good news for fans of the long-running zombie serial. For everyone else, now might be as good a time as any to catch up on the highly popular television series.
“The environment is more cluttered and it is more challenging to be meaningful. The nice news is that if you look at cable dramas, and you look at the top 10, we have five of them. And that’s a pretty good place to be.”
The Walking Dead season 7 premieres October 23, 2016 on AMC.
Source: The Wrap
