It's the end of an era for zombie fiction on television, as The Walking Dead will end its run on AMC with its upcoming eleventh season. On Wednesday, the network confirmed that season 11 will serve as a bit of a farewell tour for the long-running show, though we'll be getting many extra episodes to give the series proper closure. Season 11 will consist of a whopping 24 total episodes, and the first set of 12 episodes will debut in 2021. The second half of the season will then close out the series the following year in 2022. However, while the original series is nearing the end of its incredible run, there are still big plans to keep the franchise alive with its various spinoffs.

"It's been 10 years 'gone bye;' what lies ahead are two more to come and stories and stories to tell beyond that," Walking Dead boss Scott Gimple in a statement. "What's clear is that this show has been about the living, made by a passionate cast, team of writer/producers, producers, and crew, bringing to life the vision put forth by Robert Kirkman in his brilliant comic - and supported by the best fans in the world. We have a lot of thrilling story left to tell on TWD, and then, this end will be a beginning of more Walking Dead - brand new stories and characters, familiar faces and places, new voices, and new mythologies. This will be a grand finale that will lead to new premieres. Evolution is upon us. The Walking Dead lives."

Fortunately for fans, viewers will still be able to keep up with Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) in their own upcoming spinoff series set in the Walking Dead universe. Angela Kang, who stepped in as The Walking Dead showrunner when Gimple moved aside, will also be coming on board for the Daryl and Carol spinoff. "The Walking Dead flagship series has been my creative home for a decade and so it's bittersweet to bring it to an end, but I could not be more excited to be working with Scott Gimple and AMC to develop a new series for Daryl and Carol," Kang says. "Working with Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride has been a highlight of my career and I'm thrilled that we get to keep telling stories together."

Other spinoffs could keep the franchise ongoing for years to come. Aside from the new series centered on Daryl and Carol, a new anthology-style spinoff series has also been ordered. This is also in addition to Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. As many fan favorites had already left The Walking Dead in years past, including Steven Yeun, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, and Andrew Lincoln, the show has certainly become very different from what it was when it first premiered on AMC in 2010. Perhaps it's all for the best to bring the original story to a close while giving fans other opportunities to continue following some of the same characters, as well as exploring other unseen territory in the Walking Dead universe. This news comes to us from TVLine.