'The Walking Dead': AMC shares plans for third series

April 8 (UPI) -- AMC has ordered a third series set in The Walking Dead universe.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Monday The Walking Dead chief content officer Scott M. Gimple and Matt Negrete have co-created a new show in the TV franchise.

"I'm beyond excited to be a part of this new show set in The Walking Dead universe," Negrete said in a press release. "Writing and producing for the original series has been the job of a lifetime and I'm honored to be working with Scott and all the fine Dead folks at AMC in this new capacity."

AMC gave a 10-episode order to the untitled drama. Entertainment Weekly said the series will follow two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the zombie apocalypse.

Production begins in the summer in Virginia, with the new show to premiere in 2020. It is unknown if the series will feature any returning characters from The Walking Dead or the companion series Fear the Walking Dead.

"Showing audiences an unseen pocket of The Walking Dead universe steeped in a new mythology is a very cool way to celebrate a 'Decade of Dead' on TV and over 15 years of Robert Kirkman's brilliant comic," Gimple said in the press release.