When Does The Walking Dead Season 8 Premiere?

Sunday night marks the end of the road for The Walking Dead‘s seventh season.

Beginning with one of the most controversial episodes of television on October 23, 2016, The Walking Dead will have aired 16 new episodes for the biggest season in the show’s history. Prior to airing its premiere episode ahead of Halloween, AMC announced that the zombie drama had been renewed for an eighth season.

When does Season 8 of The Walking Dead start?

The network has not released an official date for Season 8’s premiere. The official premiere date will come from The Walking Dead’s San Diego Comic Con panel in July. In the mean time, speculation points to October 14, 2017 or October 21, 2017.

UP NEXT: Who Dies In The Season 7 Finale?

Historically, The Walking Dead kicks off new seasons around the second week of October. Season 7 started a bit later than usual, taking its eight episode half-season run deeper into December.

In the absence of The Walking Dead, its sibling series Fear the Walking Dead will attempt to fill the void left by the off-season. Fear the Walking Dead returns for its third season in June. Fans who stuck with the show through its second season agree, it has significantly improved from its first batch of episodes and is telling a compelling story leading up to a border war on the Mexican-American war. New characters, including Danay Garcia’s Luciana, have helped create the depth the series needed.

MORE WALKING DEAD: Who Dies In The Season 7 Finale? / Can Rick Trust Dwight? / Tom Payne On Jesus’ Sexuality Reveal / Tom Payne Reveals Epic Deleted Scene From 7×15 / Andrew Lincoln’s Amazing Series Ending Idea / Is Sasha Already Dead? / Who Is Negan’s “Little Birdy”?

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.