A few days before audiences geared up for the premiere of season five of The Walking Dead, AMC announced that season six would happen. Which is kind of a no brainer. The Walking Dead has been the #1 show in the adults 18-49 demographic for the last two years and it’s the highest rated cable show ever. AMC President Charlie Collier said, “Thank you to Robert Kirkman, Scott Gimple, the terrific executive producers, and the entire team who brings this compelling world and these rich characters to life. There’s plenty more Dead ahead thanks to their impressive, collective effort.”

Scott M. Gimple is back for season six as the showrunner and executive producer along with Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, and Tom Luse. There’s also potential for a companion series based on a new story and new characters created by Kirkman.

The Walking Dead kicked off season five with a bang. Literally.

Speculation had been tossed about for months leading up to the premiere, regarding the happenings at Terminus. Are they cannibals? Are they just marauders? Are they something else entirely? The question was answered during the season five premiere, Sunday, October 12, 2014. The episode provided a glimpse of the Terminus baddies before they were holding hostages back to when they were the hostages. This humanizing backstory didn’t invoke much sympathy for the Terminus crew, but rather presented a look at what Rick and Company could have turned into given a different mentality. The season premiere closed with the reappearance of a former character who hasn’t been seen in almost two years. The season opener was followed by the show about the show Talking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick with guests Scott M. Gimple (season premiere writer), Greg Nicotero (season premiere director), and Conan O’Brien (season premiere watcher).

The season five premiere garnered 17.3 million total viewers, with 11 million among the 18-49 demographic. Ratings saw a raise of 7% and 6%, respectively, that beat the previous record of 16.1 million watching with 10.4 million in the 18-49 demographic.

The show’s popularity can be seen through social media and around the world. Social media activity is at an all-time high with over 30 million Facebook fans, 2.7 million Twitter followers, and video views of trailers and sneak peek scenes of the new season have increased since last season as well. The premiere will be on “First on FOX” the FOX International Channels around the world shown in over 125 markets. International success of the show follows U.S. trends breaking records all over the world. With numbers like these, it shouldn’t be long before season seven is greenlit.