AMC has announced that their highest-rated TV series, The Walking Dead, will return on Sunday, October 13th. The cable channel ordered 16 episodes for season four and will air them in two batches. The second group of episodes will start airing sometime in February 2014.

Here’s their press release:

AMC’S “THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 4 RETURNS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 AT 9PM ET/PT

International Premieres of “The Walking Dead” Season 4 Locked for the Week of October 14 Across All FOX International Channels Markets

New York – July 19, 2013- “The Walking Dead,” the most watched drama in basic cable history, returns for another terrifying and exhilarating season on Sunday, October 13th at 9pm ET/PT. In this post-apocalyptic world, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors continue their ongoing struggle to survive the threat of walkers as well as the dangers that lurk among the living. A 16 episode season of the series which the The New York Post gave 4 stars, will air in two-parts with the first eight hours kicking off October 13th and returning February 2014 with the final eight episodes. Internationally, “The Walking Dead’ will return to audiences in 120+ FOX International Channels (FIC) markets the week of October 13th, as part of FIC continued commitment to broadcast the series near date-and-date globally. Following “The Walking Dead” will be the season premiere of AMC’s live after show, “Talking Dead,” hosted by Chris Hardwick at 10pm ET/PT. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is the first original cable series ever to end the broadcast TV season as the number one show in delivery for adults 18-49.

“The Walking Dead” premiere will coincide with AMC’s annual blockbuster marathon of thriller and horror films, AMCFearfest. Celebrating its 17th year, AMCFearfest will feature 19 consecutive days of themed programming and more than 70 films, running from Sunday, October 13th through Wednesday, October 31. In addition, AMC will air “The Walking Dead” marathon, from October 7th through October 13th beginning with season one straight through to the premiere of season four.

In the highly anticipated new season, we find Rick and the group fostering a thriving community in the safe haven of the prison. Sadly, in this brutal world, happiness is short-lived and walkers and outside threats are no match for danger brewing inside the fences. The group’s home and new way of life will be thoroughly tested, and their struggle to survive has never been so perilous. Season 4 also introduces several new characters including Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard Jr., “The Wire”).

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, “The Walking Dead” stars Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Scott Wilson, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey, Emily Kinney, DanaiGurira, Chad Coleman and Sonequa Martin-Green. The series is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Tom Luse and Greg Nicotero.

The season premiere of “The Walking Dead” will be complemented by a wealth of exclusive content at www.amctv.com, including the The Walking Dead Story Sync, which garnered both the Social TV Award for Best Mobile Phone, iPad or Tablet Social TV application, and Variety’s Entertainment App Award. Fans can also check out Inside “The Walking Dead” videos, episode sneak peeks, “Talked About Scenes,” “Talking Dead” bonus scenes, production diary interviews with the cast and crew, production photo galleries, fan trivia games and new behind-the-scenes videos from the set in Atlanta.

Following “The Walking Dead” season premiere will be the third season debut of AMC’s live after show “Talking Dead” at 10pm ET/PT, hosted by Chris Hardwick. Last season, the finale of “Talking Dead” garnered its largest audience to date, reaching 5.5 million viewers. The after show features Hardwick spending time with fans, actors, producers and TV enthusiasts, recapping the most recent “Dead” episode, providing sneak-peeks and discussion of upcoming episodes and taking questions and comments from viewers. The series is executive produced by Michael Davies and co-executive produced by Jen Kelly from Embassy Row.

“The Walking Dead” is the first original cable series ever to end the broadcast TV season as the number one show for adults 18-49. The Series has garnered two Emmy(R) Awards for Outstanding Prosthetic Make-up, a Golden Globe(R) Award nomination for Best Television Series- Drama and a WGA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing Derivative New Media, among other accolades.

About AMC

Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, AMC brings to its audience something deeper, something richer, Something More. The network reigns as the only cable network in history ever to win the Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, and boasts the most-watched drama series in basic cable history with “The Walking Dead.” AMC’s original drama series include “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Killing” and “Hell on Wheels.” Its newest series, “Low Winter Sun,” premieres this summer. AMC also explores authentic worlds with bold characters through its slate of unscripted original series like “Comic Book Men,” “Small Town Security,” “Talking Dead,” and “Freakshow.” AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel, and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Something More.

About FOX International Channels

FOX International Channels (FIC) is 21st Century FOX’s international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 300+ wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, sports, lifestyle, factual and movie channels in 48 languages across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. FIC’s core channel brands include FOX, FOX Sports, FOX Life and National Geographic Channel. FIC’s movie channels include FOX Movies, FOX Movies Premium, Star Chinese Movies and Moviecity. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 1.6 billion cumulative households worldwide. In addition, FIC owns and operates two production studios and produces thousands of local programming hours for its wholly owned channels and third parties.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to Walking Dead’s fourth season?