An “entirely new story and cast of characters” will feature in the spin-off to The Walking Dead which AMC has announced is in preparation for launch in 2015, with Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert acting as executive producers.

“Building on the success of the most popular show on television for adults  18-49 is literally a no-brainer,”  AMC’s president and  general manager Charlie Collier explained. “We look forward to working with Robert, Gale and Dave again as  we develop an entirely new story and cast of characters. It’s a big world and we  can’t wait to give fans another unforgettable view of the zombie apocalypse.”

“After 10 years of writing the comic book series and being so close to the  debut of our fourth, and in my opinion, best season of the TV series, I couldn’t  be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of The Walking  Dead universe,” said Kirkman. “The opportunity to make a show that isn’t  tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my  creativity racing.”

Series 4 of The Walking Dead begins in October.