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The Walking Dead has cooled off in recent years from the ratings juggernaut it was during its third and fourth seasons, but that doesn't mean the franchise is going away anytime soon. AMC is all in with The Walking Dead, as the core show has already been renewed for a 10th season and spinoff Fear The Walking Dead has also been renewed for a sixth season. AMC is also currently developing a third show that will focus on children who have grown up in the Zombie Apocalypse, but that's not all, as there are also three movies in various stages of development, one of which will feature Rick Grimes' continuing story after he departed the show. AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference about the future of the franchise, and he says despite the ratings loss it has plenty of fire left (via THR).

"We have an awful lot of life left in The Walking Dead — I mean decades and decades of life left," Sapan said. He also said that the additional series and movie projects in development are a sign of the franchise's health, adding "That's an indication of a vital heartbeat in the franchise."

Sapan also pointed out how AMC's streaming strategy is only helped by its original content like Walking Dead, a franchise it distributes to third parties as well as its four services, including Shudder, Sundance Now, Acorn TV, and Urban Movie Channel.

"Our offerings are designed to super-serve a specific segment of the population," Sapan said. "We don't bid for Friends or Seinfeld. We're not trying to compete with, or replace Netflix, Amazon, Disney, HBO Max, but rather our offerings are complementary."

As for The Walking Dead, the latest season has been well received, featuring the first season taken over by new showrunner Angela Kang, so the future is promising. While the show said goodbye to Rick, he will be returning in a trilogy of movies, so those who miss the group's leader will be able to get a bit of closure at least before having to truly say goodbye. If the main show can stay on track and the film's deliver, Sapan's prediction might just come true.

The Walking Dead Season 10 premieres on AMC Sunday, October 6th.