AMC began production on season three of “The Walking Dead” Monday, and Executive Producer Robert Kirkman did an on-set interview with AMCtv.com to discuss his thoughts and expectations for the upcoming 16 episodes.

According to Kirkman, Season three will see several changes, some of which were teased in season two’s finale such as that the group will at last depart from Herschel’s farm after it is overrun by walkers and that they will arrive at a seemingly abandoned prison, where a numerous plot twists unfold.

When it comes to the prison, Kirkman said he is very excited for fans to see the prison set.

They’ve taken a lot of what you see in the comic book series and brought it to life in ways that I didn’t think possible,” he said. “This is going to be one of the most impressive looking things that’s ever been put together for a show.”

Season 3 will also see the addition of new characters such as the sinister Governor (David Morrissey), whose actions suggest humans may pose more of a threat than the undead.

The plan was always to evolve naturally into a place where the zombies essentially become a manageable threat,” Kirkman said. “You know the rules. You know how to deal with them. To a certain extent they become something to not really be scared of unless you mess up. Humans, however, do not follow any rules and will always do something that surprises you and are capable of doing things far worse than trying to eat you…We’re definitely going to be seeing a lot of horrible things.”

Along with the Governor, fan-favorite zombie slicer Michonne, played by Danai Gurira, will also be joining the cast.

Kirkman explained he was impressed with the sword skills she is picking up in training.

She’s going to be doing all of the hard character stuff and drama that The Walking Dead is known for, but she has tremendous physical capability and the sword training that I’ve seen is absolutely amazing,” he said. “I can’t wait to see her hack up some zombies.”

Season 3 will have 16 episodes, making it the show’s longest season yet. With the extra time, Kirkman said he looks forward to packing in as much character development and action as possible.

The actors and the crew and a lot of the producers would not be thrilled to hear me saying this, but I love doing 16 episodes a year,” he said. “I think the more the better, and I think it’s a lot of fun. We are going to get to tell bigger stories, and tell more stories, and get into the characters a lot more. So the more the merrier.”

AMC wisely had renewed “The Walking Dead” for it’s third season on October 25th, 2011 after the season 2 premiere broke cable ratings records. Actual filming for season 3 is scheduled to begin shooting in another area, Senoia, on May 31, 2012.