The Walking Dead season 7 premiere is full of laughs, says Andrew Lincoln

He also states that Negan's arrival sets up the show's 'end point'

Since the culmination of The Walking Dead season 6, lead actor Andrew Lincoln has been largely silent about what's to come in the zombie drama's upcoming installment.

All the cast members who have spoken about season 7, which will premiere next month, have expressed what a tough watch the opening episode is considering the audience will instantaneously lose a loved character at the hands of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the show's new villain.

Lincoln - who plays Rick Grimes - wants you to know, however, that it's not all doom and gloom. He told Entertainment Weekly: "It's a hysterical episode - there [are] so many laughs."

The British actor also went on to suggest that Negan's arrival sets up the show's end game.

“It’s just a continuation of a much bigger story," he added. "We’re heading towards a bigger end point."

On his character, Lincoln had this to say: “As the season finished, the story was about Rick being broken and realizing that basically everything that he thought has been turned upside down in the space pretty of much of a day. The world that he fought and strove for, for so long, has irrevocably changed.”

Executive producer and director Greg Nicotero recently revealed that fans will immediately learn the identity of Negan's victim as season 7 begins; Lincoln reflected upon the process of getting back into his character's mindset when cameras began rolling.

“I remember my mother said to me, ‘That’s going to be quite a challenge to get back into that state that you were straight after a break', and I just said, ‘Thanks, mum. That’s kind of my job, thank you.’”

The Walking Dead season 7 will air on FOX from 24 October while season 6 will be available to own on Blu-ray and DVD on 26 September.