Walking Dead @ Comic-Con: Get the Premiere Date! A Chilling New Trailer! Season 2 Teases!

The San Diego Comic-Con panel for AMC’s The Walking Dead wasted no time in answering the No. 1 question on fans’ minds, revealing that Season 2 of the ghoulishly good drama will premiere on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 9/8c — two weeks sooner than many had guesstimated, based on the series’ Halloweentime 2010 debut.

Walking Dead Scoop: Supernatural Alum Lauren Cohan Snags Key Season 2 Role

Read on for the highlights from the show’s panel discussion, then watch the chilling new full-length trailer below.

The Write Stuff | Fans of TWD need not worry about the behind-the-scenes writer’s room switch-up that happened once Season 1 wrapped. As Frank Darabont reassured the Con audience, “No, we’ve got people coming to the table going, ‘Wow, we love this and we want to be a part of it,’ and that’s a really cool thing.”

Zombie U | Calling all potential extras: EP Robert Kirkman revealed that there is “a zombie school in Atlanta” where the series’ walking undead prep for episodes. How cool is that?

Art of the (Tiny) Tease | As expected, the Walking Dead cast was extremely tighted-lipped when it came to Season 2 spoilers. Sarah Wayne Callies did part with this little gem: “The scripts this season are unprecedented…. the best TV scripts I’ve ever seen.” She added, “This season really shows that the most dangerous things out there are the monsters inside.”

Life After Death | Following Andrea’s tragic loss in Season 1, Laurie Holden reveals, “Every character is pushed to the max this year. People are going to be so thrilled. The writing is so superb and every script is gold.”

Check Your Ticks at the Door | Hollywood ain’t as glamorous as it seems, folks. According to Steven Yeun, “You wake up, you do a tick check, you go to work, you take it all in, you sweat your butt off, you come home, you do another tick check.” Don’t believe him? Try this little anecdote on for size. “One of them climbed my mountain,” he says, “and planted a peak on the top of my mountain!”

Manly Man | Norman Reedus’ favorite part of this Dead gig? “Dude, I run around with a crossbow and shoot zombies.”

Leaps Jeer | Darabont promises that Season 2 “picks up about five seconds in an overlap with the first season’s finale — so none of this bullsh-t ‘six months later’ stuff.”

Dream Cast | No matter what new characters lie in the series’ future, Kirkman has one man in mind to tackle a role: “Ed O’Neill, Ed O’Neill, and Ed O’Neill.” And since Mr. O happens to be busy at the moment as a Modern Family man? “My second go-to is John Stamos.”

Stunt-tastic | This cast is more badass than you originally suspected, in that they do many of their own stunts, too. “I did pretty much all of my stunts, besides bringing the horse down,” Andrew Lincoln revealed. Adds Jon Bernthal, “It’s an incredibly game group of actors and we go for it as much as we possibly can. We’re all kind of banged up and bruised.”

Big Little Man | Love the youngest Grimes guy, Carl? Well, get ready for Season 2 goodness from actor Chandler Riggs, says Callies. “I was brought to tears by how proud I am of him. He did a scene the other day that I can’t tell you anything about, but it will take your breath away. He is going to blow your mind this year.”

Rick’s Rocky Road | Fans of the graphic novel stories are aware of the twists and turns Rick will encounter. But when will they make their way into the series? “The plan is to get there, but we have to take our time,” Kirkman offers. “The plan is not to rush, just like I did in the comic book series.”