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‘The Walking Dead’ Returns: When Will New Episodes Air, And What Will They Reveal?

By Bernadette Giacomazzo
Published on: 03:14 PST, Jan 2, 2017

Fans of the blockbuster AMC show The Walking Dead are anxiously awaiting the show’s seventh season to return after the cliffhanging midseason finale. But the question is, what will fans get to see when The Walking Dead returns?

According to TV Line, when The Walking Dead returns to AMC on February 12, fans will get to see Rick and Company “rise up” against Negan and his goons. We’ll recall that when last we left Rick and his friends in the polarizing mid-season finale, despite everyone wanting Negan dead (including his own allies), the villain lives to see another day. However, Rich, Michonne, Tara, Rosita, and Carl have all shown up to confirm that they are, in fact, ready to fight, but there’s a problem: Daryl is back at the Hilltop with Jesus, the latest cause of all the drama.

Meanwhile, Rick and Aaron were discovered at the houseboat keeping an eye on Alexandria. Awkward!

None of this, however, changes the fact that there are plenty of people — including his own henchman — who wish to see Negan meet his demise. So, will that happen anytime soon?

According to Comicbook.com, when The Walking Dead returns, it promises to be as violent as ever. And while there’s no official confirmation as to when Negan will meet his inevitable demise, AMC is certainly hoping that the new episodes that will air beginning February 12 will have better ratings than the episodes of this past season. In fact, this season of The Walking Dead has had record-low ratings, and hopefully, this ship can turn around quickly!

“Hopefully, the series’ return will also help boost the show and its lagging ratings. Last week, The Walking Dead’s rating were up some from the previous. Earlier in November, the show had its lowest ratings since Season 3 debuted, so a change in pace would be welcomed by AMC.”

Part of the lag in ratings, according to the site, has to do with the fact that some of the fan favorites have been already killed off, and Negan isn’t as popular as AMC (or the show) would like him to be. So where does that leave the new season?

According to Digital Spy, while there may be a few fans who will be disappointed by the storylines when The Walking Dead returns, they will have a lot more time to think about regarding the direction of the story, as the show is already gearing up for another five seasons.

While U.K. viewership of the show remains strong, U.S. fans of the show have almost universally excoriated the show for taking a different direction than intended by the original comic book creators of the series.

The outlet spoke with original Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, and he explained that it took a long time for the show to get to where it’s at today, and it will take even longer to get to the inevitable conclusion of the series.

“Look at it this way… it took us 6 seasons to get to 100. It won’t take us 6 years to get to 200 and that will take us to season… TWELVE. And we’ll STILL be ahead of the show at that point. And if the show is still going strong at season 12… well, that would be about the most amazing thing ever… so we’ll all be too busy celebrating to worry about anything.”

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on January 12 at 9 p.m. EST. Check your local listings for the channel.

Will you be watching when The Walking Dead returns?

[Featured Image by AMC]

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