AMC has ordered a pilot for an as-yet-unnamed companion series to The Walking Dead.  TWD creator Robert Kirkman will co-create the new series along with Dave Erickson, who will also act as showrunner for the new series.  The development of The Walking Dead companion series was first announced back in 2013 (see "Kirkman Working on New Zombie Series for AMC").  The network is obviously please with the script for the pilot since it scheduled production to begin on the pilot for the new series later this year (2014).
 
Deadline points out that although AMC’s announcement fell short of the "straight to series" commitment that the network gave to both The Walking Dead and the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, AMC gave an indication that the project is intended to go to series by describing the order as a "pilot episode" rather than just a "pilot."
 
Kirkman, who co-wrote the pilot for the new series, explained the rationale behind a second series based on this zombie apocalypse: "There are many corners of The Walking Dead universe that remain unseen in the shadows.  Being given the opportunity to shine a light into those corners and see what lurks out there is an absolute thrill."
 
The fifth season The Walking Dead debuts on AMC on Sunday, October 12th.