Will you still watch "The Walking Dead" shows from your nursing home?

"The Walking Dead" premiered on AMC on October 31, 2010. Since then, it has become the highest-rated show for 18-49-year-olds. Sure, it has slipped in viewers in the past year, but it's still very strong. It also led to the "companion series" "Fear the Walking Dead" in 2015, and that show is gearing up for its fourth season in 2018.

To AMC, this franchise is not winding down, it's only just beginning.

According to Deadline, during a conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss AMC Networks' third-quarter results, AMC CEO Josh Sapan projected a huge future for the "Walking Dead" franchise:

"The use of the word 'franchise,' we don't take lightly. It's not a sloppy or casual word. We've studied the best. Some have been around 30, 40, 50 years. We have a chance for a lot of life in the franchise."

It certainly helps that the main show, "The Walking Dead," is based on Robert Kirkman's ongoing comic book series. He has plans to go on and on with that comic, and the TV show could easily follow suit. It could also create more spinoff/companion series, beyond "Fear the Walking Dead." Look at HBO with five "Game of Thrones" prequels currently in development (although not all five are expected to make it to the screen).

If AMC is thinking long, long, long-term, they may even consider joining the reboot craze -- way down the line -- to do a completely fresh take on Kirkman's "Walking Dead" comic book, perhaps after he's actually finished it. Maybe that would be a digital-only version, or whatever the new technology is in 10, 20 years. (And maybe Andrea would get decent treatment in that adaptation.)

For now, TWD Season 8 is continuing Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.

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