“The new world NEEDS Rick and Michonne,” teases AMC. And well, The Walking Dead fans need closure about Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira’s characters!

Rick’s story was originally set to continue in stand-alone movies; he was last seen severely injured, in a helicopter, and Michonne eventually left to follow a lead about his potential survival in Season 10. (Everyone thought he died in Season 9.) But it had been some time since we’d gotten any updates. Now we know why. At San Diego Comic-Con, Lincoln and Gurira showed up at the TWD panel to announce they’ll be back — as stars and executive producers — for a six-episode limited series on AMC+ that “will continue the journey and love story of the Rick Grimes and Michonne characters.” It is set to premiere in 2023.

The new world NEEDS Rick and Michonne. pic.twitter.com/orvvTo8sHi

— The Walking Dead on AMC (@WalkingDead_AMC) July 22, 2022

“Rick and Michonne are two of my favorite people and Danai and Andy are two of my favorite people,” The Walking Dead Universe Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple, who will serve as showrunner, said. “Working with all of them continues to be a dream come true. The three of us, along with a terrific team of TWD all stars and incredible new voices, are crafting an insane love epic worth the long, long wait.”

This spinoff is just the latest set in The Walking Dead Universe. Fear the Walking Dead will be entering its eighth season. The Walking Dead: World Beyond aired two seasons. The anthology Tales of the Walking Dead is coming in August. And there are two new series coming, with one focused on Norman Reedus’ Daryl, set in Europe, and the other following Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s in post-apocalyptic Manhattan in Isle of the Dead.