The third season of AMC's television series The Walking Dead is scheduled to premiere on October 14, 2012[1] and will feature 16 episodes.[2] The series is based on the series of comic books of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard; it was developed for television by Frank Darabont, and is executive produced by Robert Kirkman and Glen Mazzara. As in the comics, the season will be set in both an abandoned prison and an active rural town of survivors. It will introduce the characters from the comics, The Governor and Michonne.[3]

Two main cast members who are not returning are Jon Bernthal, who played Shane Walsh, and Jeffrey DeMunn as Dale Horvath; both characters were killed in the previous season