"The Walking Dead" will celebrate its 100th episode this October, with the premiere of Season 8, and Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) swears he's not just saying it when he says all of these wonderful things:

"I can't wait," he told Entertainment Weekly. "This is not hyperbole. This is not a cynical act to try and amp up enthusiasm for the 100th episode in Season 8, but I am genuinely more excited about this next episode and the following 15 than I've ever been in my life. I can't wait to get back."

He shouldn't have to wait long, since TWD typically starts shooting its 16 episodes in the first week of May.

Lincoln also talked-up Episode 100 to Comicbook.com, basically promising that it will be one of the greatest episode ever:

"I know, you know, that we are going to have to come and bring one of the greatest episodes we've ever attempted, and we're going to start the season with it. And, it will be the 100th episode, which is one of the greatest. I never thought when we started this thing seven years ago - eight years ago it will be when we air. And, I never thought that we would get to, you know - I was very happy with one season. I was very happy with the pilot. Let alone, a hundred episodes, a hundred hours more because of the extended episodes. It's a huge milestone and, you know, it will be a big deal because there's a lot of the crew and a few of the cast left that have trudged all of those hard and sweaty and bloody miles together. So, it's a huge achievement and I know I'm sure, Scott Gimple, four years ago, had it planned that we would be starting a full-scale war on the hundredth episode. I like to think he's that much of a boy scout: always prepared."

Lincoln added that it's probably not breaking news for him to say "there's a very strong chance that [Season 8 is] going to pick up where we left off" in the Season 7 finale.

For once, the hype may be justified, since Season 7 ended with the declaration of All Out War. If the AMC show follows the "Walking Dead" comic book storyline even a little, Season 8 should be action-packed, exciting, and everything TWD fans actually want to see."The Walking Dead" Season 8 will give us the 100th episode this October. The exact date has yet to be revealed, but it'll be a Sunday that month.

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