TCA: AMC Extends ‘Walking Dead' Third Season to 16 Episodes

‘The Killing' to premiere Apr. 1; confirms Mar. 25 return for ‘Mad Men'

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/14/2012 8:15:40 PM

Pasadena, Calif. - AMC has extended the third-season order of The Walking Dead to 16 episodes from 13, the network announced at the TCA press tour here Saturday.

The second season of Walking Dead resumes with new episodes on Feb. 12 followed by new unscripted series Comic Book Men and the return of live after show Talking Dead.

AMC also announced that The Killing will return on Sunday, Apr. 1 and confirmed that Mad Men's fifth season will debut on Sunday, Mar. 25. Both series will have two-hour premieres.

Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior VP of original programming, production and digital content, assured the roomful of reporters that The Killing would solve the mystery of who killed Rosie Larson in the next season, the cliffhanger that angered fans after the season one finale.

"I can confirm the killer will be revealed in the season two finale," he said, which was met with laughs in the room, noting that they were following the format of the original Danish series.