AMC has announced that it has renewed The Walking Dead, the hit zombie TV series based on the Image Comic series by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard, for a sixth season.  The renewal comes just days before the first episode of Season 5 debuts on Sunday, October 12th.  The network also announced that Scott Gimple will return as showrunner for the series’ sixth season (Frank Darabont, who was largely responsible for getting TWD to the small screen, was the showrunner for the first season, but left after a financial dispute with AMC that has ended in court (see "Darabont Wins Motion in 'Walking Dead' Lawsuit").  Glen Mazzara was the showrunner for the second and third seasons, while Gimple took over for Season 4).
 
With the pilot for a companion series already in production (see "'The Walking Dead' Companion Series Gets Pilot Order") and ratings for TWD Season 4 at record levels, the renewal of The Walking Dead for Season 6 was a foregone conclusion.  The Walking Dead series has spawned successful toy and game lines, and it remains the #1 graphic novel property in both the bookstore and comic shop markets.