Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, California, AMC announced that season 3 of ‘The Walking Dead’ will consist of 16 episodes. It will continue to follow the similar structure and schedule. Previous seasons of ‘The Walking Dead’ have had 13 episodes; adding three episodes could give a greater story arc to an obvious fan favorite.

The Walking Dead currently has the highest telecast in the Adult 18-19 range for drama in history. It also has top pay-TV ratings on FIC markets. It has rave reviews from critics around the world, calling it thrilling and setting the new standard in television.

The popular series is based off of the comic book by Robert Kirkman, which recently released ‘The Rise of the Governor’, the latest book in the series. It has won awards for Best Prosthetic Makeup and Best Television Series-Drama.

[UPDATE]: In case you were wondering how the Zombie Outbreak started, you’re going to keep wondering. Show runner Glen Mazzara tells The Wrap that “We haven’t really discussed it. We’re more interested in the continuing storylines.” There is no real answer in the comic series as well, and Mazzara believes in going along with that story, focusing more on the characters. “That’s something that’s not really addressed in the book. And that’s something that we’d like to keep,” Mazzara said. “This show is about our characters. And about them trying to stay alive, hold on to their humanity, find a safe place, hopefully rebuild civilization. Just everything’s collapsed. So they’re under incredible duress. It doesn’t feel right that they would have those answers, and even if they did have those answers, what would they do with them?”

He later adds, “I think part of the success of the show is that it feels immediate. It feels like we’re following the little guys. And they don’t have the answers and they desperately need them to survive.”

So we won’t be hearing from the zombie’s side anytime soon, but do you think we’ll see The Governor? Do you have any character you’re waiting to see in the TV series? What do you think caused the zombie epidemic? Have you been watching so far? What do you think of the additional episodes?

‘The Walking Dead’ returns on February 13th on AMC.