AMC’s zombie hit The Walking Dead is in its seventh season and flirting with 100 episodes. So how much longer can it go?

Creator Robert Kirkman, who writes the comic the show is based on and also serves as a producer, went on record saying he believes they’ll still be around five years from now — and possibly a good bit longer. In the latest issue of the comic, Kirkman mused about the longevity of the series. For Kirkman, he sees The Walking Dead going strong well into the early-to-mid 2020s.

Here’s an excerpt from his comment:

“It took us six seasons to get to 100. It won’t take us six years to get to 200 and that will take us to season… TWELVE. And we’ll still be ahead of the show at that point.”

Kirkman’s math adds up, and judging by the current pace of the series, there’s still a few seasons worth of worthy material to mine. They haven’t even started fighting Negan yet, then the Whisperers storyline (don’t worry, we won’t spoil it) looms beyond that a few years down the road. It sounds like the creative team is sold on keeping this show rolling, but what about the business side of things?

The ratings this season have started to dip, though even “low” for Walking Dead is still among the most-watched shows on television. So ratings would have to fall off a cliff for the network ever to consider pulling the plug. The real question is how long the key cast members (Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs and Danai Guriria, etc.) decide to stick around. It’s hard to imagine The Walking Dead without Rick Grimes.

How long do you think The Walking Dead will last?

(Via io9)