Every year, The Paley Center for Media presents a series of panels in order to shine the spotlight on some of the year’s best TV shows. This series is known as Paleyfest and for the past few years, AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ has taken the stage to much fanfare. This year was no different as ‘Talking Dead’ host Chris Hardwick gathered a number of cast members and producers on the Paley Center stage to talk about the current season of the show, as well as what’s to come in the future.

Though this panel didn’t reveal as much as, say, a Comic-Con panel, the whole thing was a nice look at what we’ve seen so far and at the characters that we’ve come to be attached to. It was like live DVD extras playing out right in front of you. They even get into a few events that happen in last episode, ‘Clear‘, which hadn’t aired at the time of the panel. Thanks to Hulu, you can watch this year’s panel for ‘The Walking Dead’ in it’s entirety. Check it out embedded below:

Before the cast and crew took the stage, Collider had the opportunity to chat with some of the stars and producers about all things ‘The Walking Dead’. First, Andrew Lincoln talks about Rick repairing himself and his relationships with people in the group:

Collider: Andrew, with as broken as Rick is now, is there a way for him to repair himself enough to face The Governor and whatever else happens between now and the Season 3 finale?

ANDREW LINCOLN:  I don’t think he’s ever going to recover from what’s happened.  When people have had a breakdown, which is, for all intents and purposes, how I wanted it to be played, you’re always changed.  But, with this weekend’s episode, something happens that holds up a mirror to Rick and he realizes he has to return from the wilderness.

Collider: And at this point, the relationship between Rick and Carl (Chandler Riggs) is really strained.

LINCOLN:  Yes.  His son is calling him out and calling him on his decisions.  I loved that [moment].  It was just a real tender father-son, almost inverted scene.  He’s great, that kid.  He can do it.

Next, Steven Yeun talks about dark journey in season 3 and how much his character has evolved from the beginning of the show:

“What’s great is that Glenn is continuing to grow, and it’s not always an easy arc.  It’s not like they had the guy go through a really traumatizing moment, and then overcome it and become the hero of all heroes.  The greatest part of this show is that it goes on, after something happens.  Glenn, being a young man, seeing what happens to the person that he loves and what happens to him, he processes it in a young way because that hasn’t happened to him before, in his life.  So, he is strong-headed, prideful and bullish, but not wise, and I think he’ll figure that out.”

Finally, Executive Producers Robert Kirkman and David Alpert talk about what’s to come in season 4, how faithful to the comics they plan on staying from here on out, and how much pressure there is to top last season’s finale:

Collider: Robert, now that you’re heading into Season 4, do you want to move back towards the comic, or do you want to move even further away?

ROBERT KIRKMAN:  We’ve always been moving in and out of the comic book, and I think that we’re going to continue to do that.  There are huge elements from the comic book in Season 3.  Moving into Season 4, it’s going to be pretty much the same.  There are going to be a lot of things fans recognize from the comics with a lot of new elements pushed in, and it’s going to make for a really good show, like it always has been.

Collider: As you moved into the finale, how much pressure was there to top what you did last season?

KIRKMAN:  The pressure is always there to top it, but we always strive to do something different and unexpected, and I think that we’ve succeeded in doing that.

DAVID ALPERT:  I also think we’ve been looking for some emotional closure and wrapping up some storylines.  We’re going to visit some dark places, but there’s also a ray of hope and optimism, going forward.

Be sure to check out the rest of Collider’s coverage of Paleyfest to see the comments from Norman Reedus, Scott Wilson, and Emily Kinney.

What were some of your favorite moments from the ‘Walking Dead’ panel at Paleyfest? Would you be into going to one of the panels live at the Paley Center? Share your thoughts on in the comments below!

“The Walking Dead’ airs every Sunday at 9:00pm on AMC.