New York - The Walking Dead will live on for yet another year.
The US-based AMC network said on Tuesday that its hit zombie drama, just two weeks into a second season, will be returning for a third season.
Sunday's episode drew an audience of 6.7 million viewers for the early airing and another 2.1 million viewers for the same-night repeat.
That eclipsed the year-ago audience for the series, which emerged as a surprise hit by averaging 5.2 million viewers weekly during that first season.
Based on the popular comic book of the same name, The Walking Dead depicts the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse confronted by a group of survivors outside Atlanta.
The cast includes Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Sarah Wayne Callies.