The Walking Dead season 9 premiere is an extended episode

The Walking Dead season 9 premiere is coming up fast and it’s going to be an extended length episode.

The Walking Dead season 9 kicks off in just over a month on Sunday, October 7^th and it was revealed by TV Guide that the season 9 premiere episode will have an extra long run time of 83 minutes. The episode will start at 9 PM EST as usual and run until 10:28. Talking Dead will air directly after The Walking Dead season 9 premiere.

There are some big changes and big villains coming to The Walking Dead in season 9 so it makes sense that they would kick off the season with an extra long episode. There will be a time jump from the season 8 finale of about 18 months so the season 9 premiere will be showing fans the communities attempting to work together after Negan and The Saviors lost All Out War in season 8.

But judging by the teasers and previews that AMC has released for season 9 it doesn’t look like the communities have been able to find a peaceful system of working together. The Saviors that remain at The Sanctuary are not falling in line behind the other communities. And there is friction between Maggie at The Hilltop and Rick at Alexandria over Rick’s decision to leave Negan alive and hold him as a prisoner.

The Walking Dead season 9 premiere will be the start of a new era for The Walking Dead, one that will move forward without two major players who have played integral roles in the show during the first eight seasons.

The Loss Of Rick Grimes

Rick Grimes, the original Grimes or OG, will be leaving The Walking Dead in season 9. There is still a lot of speculation about whether or not Rick’s end will be final or not. It could be the case that Rick leaves the group for some reason and leaves the door open for Andrew Lincoln to return at some point in the future. Or, with Carl gone and the Grimes family essentially wipes out because Judith is not Rick’s biological child, Rick’s character may be killed off to bring the original storyline of The Walking Dead to an end.

No matter how Rick is written out of the show it will be devastating for fans who have followed the journey of Officer Friendly for the last nine seasons and have always loved the flawed protagonist even when he made mistakes because of his noble character and his undying love and devotion to his family and to the group who became his family.

Maggie Moving On

Lauren Cohan will also be leaving the show in season 9 and Maggie Greene Rhee will no longer be a primary character in the show. But her story arc isn’t over, and likely will be left open. Lauren Cohan will be playing a lead role in the ABC show Whiskey Cavalier but has expressed interest in continuing to show up on The Walking Dead occasionally and possibly returning to the show as a lead in the future.

With so many big changes occurring this season, it seems only appropriate that The Walking Dead season 9 will kick off with an extended episode on Sunday, Oct. 7^th.