AMC announced that the hit post-apocalyptic horror, The Walking Dead, has been renewed for another season on Oct 5. The show’s eleventh season will see Lauren Cohan return as a series regular. 

Cohan plays Maggie Rhee, the widow of Glenn Rhee and the last known surviving member of the Greene family. The popular show is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman. 

“It’s worked out and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” said series showrunner Angela Kang at the Paley Fest panel for the show. “I think she is a really compelling character. And Lauren is such a compelling actress.” 

The actress chose to leave the series in 2018 after being a series regular for eight years. “I love Maggie and I’ll always love Maggie, and we had a really good time so far,” said Cohan when leaving the series. “It is really simple because eight years is a long time to spend in one character.” 

The hit AMC series follows a group of survivors after a zombie apocalypse who travel in search of a safe and secure home, according to Variety. 

AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios president Sarah Barnett praised the show for its success in a statement. “The Walking Dead burst out of the gate 10 years ago as a genre show that had all the character depth of a top-tier prestige drama. And now 10 years later — led by the brilliant Angela Kang and fueled by one of the most consistently talented casts in television — this phenomenon is flourishing creatively, with critics and audiences embracing its reset. We’re delighted to welcome back Lauren Cohan, she has meant so much to this show and its passionate, global fanbase, who are in for a fantastic ride over the coming months.” 

The Emmy winning show also has a spinoff series called Fear The Walking Dead and an upcoming third series in the franchise as well. The series also has an upcoming movie starring Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead, Love Actually) in the works with Universal and Skybound Entertainment, according to Variety. 

“It’s amazing to be on a show that has run this long. It’s such a blessing. It’s such a testament to all the people who worked on it and made it happen, and the fans who come along the journey with us,” said Kang. “We’re always trying to think, as we’re working on stories, where this might go in the future. So, we are always thinking a season or two ahead, but just loosely like more in terms of what’s a part of this person? And how might they change over time? And sometimes those plans change along the way, but it just it gives us opportunity to just really think in a deeper way about where some of these plot lines that we’re working on now are going. That’s really a great thing for creative process.”