The Walking Dead season five doesn’t begin until this upcoming Sunday, but AMC is Christmas Eve anxious and has officially announced that they’ve ordered season six for next fall TV season.

There’s also a pilot for a potential spinoff series based in the same world but following different characters and storylines currently being made as well.

San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H The Walking Dead panel began with moderator Chris Hardwick (of The Talking Dead) introducing executive producer and showrunner Scott Gimple, executive producers Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, and Dave Alpert, and special effects makeup supervisor and executive producer Greg Nicotero.

The Walking Dead
Season 4, Episode 1 – “30 Days Without an Accident”
Directed by Greg Nicotero
Written by Scott Gimple
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, and Scott Wilson
AMC
Air date: October 13, 2013

The Walking Dead is a mixed-bag of television at its best. The show, (which premiered its fourth season to a record-shattering 16.1 million viewers last night) has never had a problem providing a promising start – it’s what happens after that normally makes me fall through a ceiling, break a leg, and limp away from the show for the remainder of the season.

“30 Days Without an Accident” executes on giving the audience a changed environment, plot threads to drive the new season forward, and a great action setpiece, but all of these things have been done well in seasons past. Can Scott Gimple (who is the third showrunner in four seasons), finally provide us with a show that’s able to give some much needed development to its new and established characters?

The Walking Dead panel at New York Comic-Con 2013 began with moderator and comedienne Yvette Nicole Brown of Community introducing executive producer Gail Anne Hurd to the podium. It was clear many of the crowd members were already fans of Brown, which only increased the high energy permeating the theater. Hurd stated that the cast of the number one television show is “the best I’ve ever worked with.” She then introduced a clip from the upcoming fourth season of the series.

The scene begins with Daryl, Michonne, and a new member of the group from the dismantled Woodbury sitting outside of a storefront. The new guy is trying to figure Daryl out, asking him if he was an undercover cop before the apocalypse began. This garners laughter from Michonne. The scene then cuts to Tyreese, Glenn, Sasha, and a group of heavily armed people entering into the building from another entrance. As they embark inside, the camera follows up the side of the building to the roof, which is covered with walker and a crashed helicopter.

“I want to make sure you all got what we just saw, people!” Brown said. “We saw zombies, and”¦a helicopter!” The crowd erupted in laughter.

After the firing of creator and initial showrunner Frank Darabont and the firing of his successor Glen Mazzara, AMC has chosen a new showrunner to take over The Walking Dead.

It’s been announced that Scott Gimple, who joined the show as an executive producer during season two, will be promoted to showrunner when Mazzara—who’s remaining on the job until season three is complete—officially departs.