‘Walking Dead’ Spinoff Update: Pilot Episode Officially Ordered By AMC; News Roundup

No end is in sight for the zombie apocalypse. Following the success of “The Walking Dead,” AMC has officially ordered the pilot for a spinoff series of Robert Kirkman’s haunting drama. The only twist? The show is being considered a “companion” series and not a “spinoff” because it will feature different characters.

Entertainment Weekly broke the news on Friday, revealing that the currently untitled project will “go into production later this year.” The series will be set in the same universe as “The Walking Dead,” but the new show will focus on new characters battling the zombie apocalypse in a different location. The only confirmed detail is that the series will not be set in Georgia.

"Almost from the beginning of ‘The Walking Dead’ on AMC, fans have been curious about what is going on in the zombie apocalypse in other parts of the world,” network president Charlie Collier told EW. “In fact, beyond requests for zombie cameos, it’s the question I get asked the most.”

Collier continued that the new show will be “truly compelling, engaging and distinct.” Zombie lovers will have to keep waiting for details, but we’ve got a roundup on the cold, hard facts known about the new “Walking Dead” series:

1. The new series received the green light from AMC in late March with a rumored 2015 premiere date.

2. “Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman and executive producers Gale Ann Hurd and David Alpert were immediately connected to the new project.

3. Dave Erickson, a producer on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy,” signed on in March to act as showrunner.

4. The EP’s and Kirkman have revealed that they are taking their time with the new series. Collier confirmed in January that they are not looking to “diminish the mothership” and that they want to take their time to do the series “right.”

5. The new show is not connected to Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comic issue 127. The issue was teased as “a new beginning,” leading fans to speculate that comic book would introduce new characters tied to the “spinoff” series. Kirkman teased that the issue features some “REALLY cool changes,” but he confirmed that issue 127 was in “no way connected to the spinoff TV show.”

"The Walking Dead" Season 5 will premiere on AMC on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 9 p.m. EDT. Will you be watching “The Walking Dead” companion series? Tweet your thoughts to @AmandaTVScoop.