'The Walking Dead' Producer Explains What's Ahead Following Explosive Midseason Finale

The Walking Dead came to a temporary close on Sunday, 1 December, night when the midseason finale aired. There was tension, excitement and bloodshed aplenty, as [SPOILER] The Governor met his grizzly end at Michonne's blade and Lilly's gun. But his push on to the prison didn't end in complete failure, as the damage caused by his attack forced Rick and co. from the safety of the prison and into the unknown wilderness.

Things will be very different when the show returns in February

The cliffhanger ending to the most recent episode will have fans of the show begging for more, but those in need of a Walking Dead fix will have to wait until the next year for the show to return. Whilst you wait, series executive producer Robert Kirkman has spoken with The Hollywood Reporter about what you might expect to see next, as he explained where the show is heading now that the possibilities have been thrown wide open with The Governor's death and the abandonment of the prison.

What happened on the last episode of The Walking Dead?

"It (the story) goes into a lot of interesting and new places, which is something The Walking Dead is always striving to do," Kirkman said of the prison being lost. "The prison has fallen, there won't be any stories there and now our characters are out on their own. They've lot the prison, they've lost where they live and where they were building their lives and they're also separated and have lost each other."

Michonne saw off the Governor, but what will she do next?

The challenges that lie ahead will no doubt be a strain on some of the characters, and Kirkman stressed that this would ultimately work for the benefit of the show. He explained, "They're out in the unknown trying to survive. We're going to be going into some very interesting places with all of these characters and seeing new sides to all of them as they figure out how to survive."

"[It's] been a while since these people have been out on the road and out in the open; they're very different people at this point," Kirkman went on to explain, this time referring to the rise in living and undead clashes that will take place in the coming episodes. "The events in the upcoming episodes are going to change them that much more, which I think will make the show a lot cooler, more dangerous and more exciting."

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on 9 February, 2014.

How will Rick and co. cope outside the fence?