The Walking Dead season 7 finale will set up 'the next 100 episodes' bringing it to season 13

The season eight premiere will be the zombie drama's 100th episode

The seventh season of The Walking Dead may be drawing to a close, but showrunner Scott Gimple has assured fans that the entire series still has a long way to go before ending.

Addressing a crowd assembled at the opening night of PaleyFest in Los Angeles, Gimple acknowledged the fact that the first episode of season eight will be the show's 100th episode.

“Episode 801, the first episode of Season 8, is going to be the 100th episode,” he told the crowd, adding: “The first episode is, I think less about that we reached 100 episodes. It's more about setting up the next 100.”

Considering its full season run usually spans 16 episodes, another 100 would bring The Walking Dead to season 13 which corroborates creator Robert Kirkman's confirmation that he wants the show to last for at least twelve seasons.

While this is no confirmation of the show's future, it's almost impossible to think that AMC wouldn't let it run for as long as producers wanted considering its status as one of the most-watched TV shows across the globe.

Gimple went on to tease what fans can expect in the approaching season seven finale which apparently won't feature as brutal a cliffhanger as the one doled out at the end of season six.

“The end of this season is very much the end of a chapter,” Gimple elaborated. “It's very much a conclusion that promises this epic story ahead. And the first episode of Season 8... It's about setting up this gigantic, epic tale to come, not only in Season 8, but beyond.”

Fans have praised the latest episode of the zombie drama - the review of which you can read here - for featuring what was most probably its first Muslim-American character.

The Walking Dead continues tomorrow (19 March) in the US with its UK premiere arriving the following evening (20 March) at 9pm on FOX.