Over the weekend, I drove out from Nashville to Senoia, Georgia to get a look at and taste of Greg Nicotero and Norman Reedus' new Nic & Norman's restaurant. While checking out the spot, Nicotero (executive producer of The Walking Dead) joined me for lunch and while we talked about his new joint, we had to talk about the upcoming seventh season of The Walking Dead, as well.

While I chowed down on a Norman's Pick burger and Nicotero enjoyed some jumbalaya, our conversation turned to the upcoming episodes of The Walking Dead. The last episode we saw, the season six finale, was directed by Nicotero. When the show returns and picks up where the crazy cliffhanger left off, I can confirm that Nicotero will remain in the driver's seat for the second half of Negan's brutal introduction.

"Listen, it was the hardest two weeks of my life," Nicotero says, careful of revealing any potential spoilers as he continued. "You take these actors and you drag them. You illicit the deepest, darkest fears that they've ever had because our actors, they're f---ing in it. So, you spend two weeks taking them to this place and it's horrific. You do it, over and over again for nine days and when it's over, you feel like you've just witnessed the most emotional things that they could drench up. They did it. And then I ask them to do it again and then again and then we're gonna change angle and do it again."

Previously, Nicotero has directed some of the best episodes of The Walking Dead, including my personal favorite: Not Tomorrow Yet. Others include No Way Out, First Time Again, Conquer, No Sanctuary, and Judge, Jury, Executioner.

The Walking Dead will return for its seventh season in October but we'll be getting a new trailer and lots of news from their San Diego Comic Con panel this Friday. For more updates and photos from The Walking Dead's panel, set, and the restaurant, follow me on Twitter @BrandonDavisBD and check out The Walking Dead on ComicBook.com's Facebook page!