AMC announced today that it has renewed Fear the Walking Dead for a fourth season, ahead of its upcoming season three premiere on June 4. In addition, Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (Once Upon a Time) are boarding Fear as co-showrunners, starting with season four. Additionally, Scott M. Gimple, executive producer and showrunner of The Walking Dead will become an executive producer of Fear the Walking Dead. Here's what Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV, had to say about the renewal in his statement.

"We're very excited to continue the journey of Fear The Walking Dead, and truly look forward to working with the talented team of Andrew Chambliss, Ian Goldberg, and Scott Gimple."

In the second half of its second season, Fear the Walking Dead averaged 5.3 million viewers per episode, including 3.4 million adults 25-54 and 3 million adults 18-49 in Nielsen live+3 ratings, firmly establishing "Fear" as one of the top shows on cable. AMC previously announced that Fear the Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson would be transitioning off of the show upon completion of production of season 3 to develop new products for AMC Studios. Here's what new showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg had to say in their joint statement.

"We are thrilled to be joining Fear The Walking Dead and couldn't be more excited to work alongside the wonderful team at AMC on this show. We love this universe and are truly honored to have the chance to contribute to it."

A wholly original companion series to The Walking Dead, the #1 show on television among adults 18-49 for the last five years, "Fear the Walking Dead" is executive produced by Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, David Alpert, David Erickson and Scott M. Gimple and produced by AMC Studios. AMC previously handed out a Season 3 renewal last year, after just the second episode of Season 2 aired. With Scott M. Gimple joining the Fear the Walking Dead team, this may spark rumors that a crossover could be brewing between Fear the Walking Dead and the flagship series The Walking Dead.

Robert Kirkman has said in the past that Fear the Walking Dead will eventually catch up to The Walking Dead timeline, but Dave Erickson said last year that a crossover will not happen. The crossover isn't feasible since the timelines are too far apart, although Robert Kirkman did say that Fear would catch up to the original series, with Dave Erickson also adding that Fear the Walking Dead is set clear on the other side of the country. Still, with Scott M. Gimple now serving as an executive producer, perhaps the network and producers have changed their tune in regards to a crossover. Hopefully we'll find out more about Fear the Walking Dead soon, before it returns with its Season 3 premiere on June 4.