'Walking Dead' Star Jeffrey Dean Morgan Hopes The End Is Near: "You Don't Want To Run It Into The Ground"

As we approach the beginning of Season 10 of “The Walking Dead,” there seems to be a lot of questions about how long the zombie series will last. With the comic book that inspired the show just recently ending its long run, there seems to be an expiration date on the TV series. Or at least that’s what you would think.

And speaking to Variety, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan agrees that there is likely a finite time left for ‘TWD’ to rule the airwaves.

READ MORE: Jordan Vogt-Roberts Signed To Direct New ‘Walking Dead’ Spin-Off Coming To AMC

“You don’t want to run it into the ground,” said Morgan. “Me personally, I’d say let’s go out on top. Let’s go out still being the number one show in the world. Whether or not that happens, I don’t know. I think if we just stuck with the comic book, we’ve still got another three years. We do deviate a lot, but I think there’s probably a good three years of material there.”

Showrunner Angela Kang has other ideas about how long the series might last, leaning more towards dragging the ending out even longer than three seasons.

“Depending at the pace we go, it could be very fast at the end or it could be very slow,” Kang said. “We always fill in with original material. Robert [Kirkman] said to me and Scott Gimple, look at all these threads that I set up for you, so the story could go a million different ways.”

READ MORE: ‘The Walking Dead’ Is Very Much Alive & Well Says AMC Exec, Who Teases Another 10 Years Of Episodes

This fits with what AMC has been saying for years that “The Walking Dead” could go on seemingly forever. Just recently, an executive at the network hinted that there could be a whole decade’s worth of material left to cover.

In an era of Peak TV where showrunners and networks are finding it easier to plan for endings and set a finite number of seasons, AMC and “The Walking Dead” is a throwback to a bygone time when a series would last as long as there are eyeballs watching. And if that’s the case, even with the lower viewership of recent seasons, the zombie series is still AMC’s biggest show by a mile and will likely outlive us all.