‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Will Live to See Season 3

Fear not, fans of Fear the Walking Dead. AMC’s The Walking Dead spinoff has found a safe haven for a third season on AMC, the network announced today. The renewal comes only a few days after FTWD Season 2 debuted, with 8.8 million viewers in Nielsen Live+3 ratings according to AMC. The Season 2 premiere was the top show on cable Sunday.

RELATED: Fear the Walking Dead Searches for Safe Harbor in Season 2

Also renewed, naturally, was the Talking Dead: Fear live aftershow hosted by Chris Hardwick (though he wouldn’t have been hurting for work if the show didn’t return).

While the FTWD Season 2 premiere won the night easily, the 3.1 rating in 18-49 was significantly lower than the 4.9 rating for the series premiere and 0.3 lower than the first season finale.

RELATED: Fear The Walking Dead Cast and Producers on Season 2 Hints, Crossover Talk… and a Musical Episode?

Have fans smarting over The Walking Dead season finale started to run out of goodwill for the franchise? And with the origin story of the zombie plague in Los Angeles already told, will viewers be wary of sticking with a series that — like its characters — might go adrift at sea?

I’m still watching FTWD each week in the hopes that all the current characters meet a grisly death and the slate can be wiped clean for a whole new cast and story.