Walking Dead Promotes Four Actors to Series Regulars

This is the largest number of series regulars the show has seen.

By Nicole Carpenter

AMC has officially upgraded four of its The Walking Dead cast members to series regulars for Season 7.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Tom Payne, Austin Amelio, and Xander Berkeley will receive much more screen time when the zombie show returns to air, THR reports. All four of them play important characters from Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic books, all have appeared already on the show, and all four will continue to as these cast members have been promoted to regulars.

Morgan was introduced at the end of the Season 6 finale as big bad guy Negan. Amelio, who plays Dwight, was brought on a bit earlier in the season — he's the badly burned Negan follower who's got big problems with Daryl. Payne and Berkeley play Hilltop residents Jesus and Gregory, respectively. Jesus is currently aiding Rick and his crew, while Gregory is leading the Hilltop colony.

The promotions shouldn't come as a huge surprise, as the characters are seemingly poised to play big parts in the survivors' future. The Walking Dead's cast now features 20 series regulars, which, according to THR, is up two from Season 6's total.

One character definitely died at the end of the Season 6 finale, so there will be at least one less cast member when the show returns in the fall. Who that is remains unknown, and to keep that death a secret, The Walking Dead showrunners reportedly recorded death scenes for 11 different cast members.

Stay tuned for more on the show from San Diego Comic-Con later this month, where AMC is bringing Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, and Preacher.

Nicole is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter.

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