The Walking Dead Midseason Finale Episode Gets Extended Run Time

Extended episodes are becoming more of an expectation than a surprise with The Walking Dead this season.

The show, which traditionally ran for an hour on Sunday nights through its first six seasons with a few exceptions, has already seen multiple extended episodes five weeks into Season 7 and will see more before the midseason break.

The midseason finale of Season 7, which is titled, “Hearts Still Beating,” will run from 9 p.m. ET to 10:25 p.m. ET according to the programming schedule. Episode 7×04 ran for the same amount of time as the midseason finale will.

Episode 7×08 will not be the only extended episode out of the three remaining from Season 7’s first half. Episode 6 will run an extra 10 minutes until 10:10 p.m. ET this Sunday and Episode 7×07 is set to run a full 90-minutes, until 10:30 p.m. ET.

The titles and synopses of the episods have already revealed potentially major spoilers for those who have knowledge of Robert Kirkman’s comics. The title, “Sing Me A Song,” for Episode 7×07 indicates the iconic moments between Negan and Carl are ahead of us while 7×08’s synopsis sees Negan heading back to Alexandria which sets the stage for another iconic death scene. For full details on the potential spoilers, click here!

“We sneakily tell you the week before,” Showrunner Scott Gimple says of the extended episodes. “Yes, there are, here and there. We’ve had an opportunity to do that, and that’s been really exciting. There’s a lot of story to tell and there’s a lot of characters to serve, and I feel really, really lucky we’re able to give the audience even more story.”

The extended episodes, however, have done little to keep audiences engaged. Season 7 started with over 17 million viewers tuning in but steady drops have followed on a weekly basis, taking the show to the lowest numbers since Season 3.

MORE WALKING DEAD: ‘Go Getters’ Recap / New Comic Storylines Set Up / Two Characters Finally Kiss / Gimple Reveals Carl & Jesus Missions / Where Are Michonne And Rick Going? / Maggie And Baby’s Fates Revealed / ‘Swear’ Preview Released

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.