Fans of The Walking Dead should prepare themselves for a lot of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) this season – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering it’s a step forward in the redemption arc. The former Savior leader spent years in captivity in Alexandria, but after rescuing Judith and Dog from the blizzard in the season nine finale, he was rewarded with some much needed “yard time.”

The season 10 trailer showed Negan out in the open passing off hilarious comments and being that lovable jerk we’ve all come to laugh with. Showrunner Angela Kang is certainly a fan of the character. “Part of the joy for me in writing Negan is figuring out, ‘What is he up to? Is it OK that I like him right now when he’s saying this stuff that’s really f—ed up?’” said Kang. “That’s a lot of what we’re doing with the character this year, and it’s really fun.”

Daryl (Norman Reedus), someone who Negan himself held captive at the Sanctuary, finally comes face-to-face with him. In an interview in July at San Diego Comic-Con, Reedus teased the interaction. “I like what Jeffrey’s doing with the character this year. It’s a completely different character than we’ve seen before,” Reedus said. “I think there’s a mutual understanding between those two characters. I think they might need each other at some point. It’s such a weird world, ‘cause some of the bad guys are the good guys, and the good guys are the bad guys, and everybody thinks they’re doing the right thing. I mean, we’ve all killed people. We’ve all done crazy things, so maybe there will be a time where we need him.”

Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic books came to an end in July, but there is enough material to keep the show going for years as assured by AMC. “This extraordinary comic created a world that already lives in multiple forms, and in the hearts and minds of millions of fans around the world, and will for many years to come,” said the network.

Morgan, however, predicts when the show could end. “You don’t want to run it into the ground,” Morgan said. “Me personally, I’d say let’s go out on top. Let’s go out still being the number one show in the world. Whether or not that happens, I don’t know. I think if we just stuck with the comic book, we’ve still got another three years. We do deviate a lot, but I think there’s probably a good three years of material there.”