AMC

Seven years in, The Walking Dead was bound to conflict with fan-favorites taking other work. AMC’s horror smash usually takes precedence, but according to recent reports, at least three Walking Dead favorites will have reduced roles in Season 8.

It’s tough to say whether The Walking Dead is set in its ways, or might surprise us in Season 8’s “All Out War.” Either way, at least one notable tweak is in order, as showrunner Scott Gimple says Season 8 will address a long-running fan complaint over the series’ pacing.

One year after The Walking Dead Season 6 built toward Negan’s arrival, the leather-clad villain is once again ready to face off with Rick; this time with armies on both sides. So reveals the official trailer for Season 7 finale “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life,” along with a new clip.

We all got to bask in Rick’s reunion with Daryl and Maggie at the close of Walking Dead mid-Season 7 finale “Hearts Still Beating,” but there’s still the difficult task of actually inspiring hope to “Rise Up” against Negan. Rick isn’t off to a great start in our first photo from the 2017 premiere, as long as you-know-who remains in charge of the Hilltop.

The Walking Dead finally returned us to the Hilltop with Sunday’s “Go Getters,” in the process mounting one of the more inventive action scenes of zombie carnage in several seasons. The staging itself left more than a few fans scratching their heads by the end, for which star Tom Payne now reveals that several sequences were missing from the final cut.

‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 has “Go Getters” looking to fetch a more compelling arc, but does a long-awaited return trip to the Hilltop at least keep things moving? And what became of poor Maggie’s medical troubles? Find out in our full review!

We live in an age of fan-theories, where Westworld twists might be unlocked on Reddit after one episode, though as The Walking Dead proved with #DumpsterGate last year, it isn’t always worth the wait. Some clever fans have observed at least one background detail that might put this past Sunday’s “Service” into perspective, however, and tease Rick’s plan to strike back.

‘The Walking Dead’ makes Season 7 too real performing “Service” to Negan’s victory, but does the first trip to Alexandria spark a sense of rebellion, or languish in grief? And will anyone tell poor Tara about Denise? Find out in our full review!

It’s early enough into The Walking Dead Season 7 that we don’t yet know how the major story will unfold in the wake of Negan’s rampage. That said. AMC’s flagship hit is already looking forward to Season 8, as Max Steel star Maria Bello has “apparently” secured a role in The Walking Dead’s 2017 season.

Whether or not The Walking Dead justified its Season 7 guessing game by the reveal of Negan’s victim(s!) this past Sunday, few would argue the sequence itself reached a disgusting new height of gore effects, practical and otherwise. See for yourself, as new behind-the-scenes shots reveal some eye-popping makeup you’ll want to see before lunch.

Time will tell if The Walking Dead can undo the fan ire that came with Season 6's cliffhanger finale, but time they certainly have. One week out from Season 7's premiere, The Walking Dead confirms that its endless parade of undead misery will continue through Season 8, and hit a major milestone at that.

Even as Walking Dead comic fans knew it to be coming, AMC viewers may have been taken back by the Season 7 trailer appearance of “King” Ezekiel and his pet tiger Shiva. Season 7 brought the creature to life with animatronics and CGI, while creator Robert Kirkman admits he wrote the tiger in to see how a TV series might handle it.