AMC Renews ‘Comic Book Men’ and ‘Talking Dead’

It's not all about the major network renewals, or even the no-brainer pickups of additional seasons of 'Mad Men' and 'The Walking Dead,' you know.  While we're still awaiting news of 'The Killing' or AMC's newest official pilot pickups, but for now several of AMC's quieter offerings can rest assured for second seasons.

In no way a surprise considering the explosive popularity of all things 'Walking Dead,' Deadline reports that AMC has opted to renew the Chris Hardwick-hosted 'The Walking Dead' talk show 'Talking Dead' for a second season of half-hour installments to follow airings of the top-rated zombie thriller.  Somewhat more unexpected however is the renewal of Kevin Smith and SModcast-hosted 'Comic Book Men,' the reality series on four men running the day to day of Smith's Redbank comic chop "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.

However, 'Comic Book Men's second season will feature 16 half-hour episodes, as opposed to the first's hour-long format.  Says Smith of the renewal:

Pinch my fat ass, ’cause I must be dreaming! A thousand thank you’s wouldn’t cover the gratitude I’m feeling right now. And as you might imagine, everyone at SModcast Pictures is in love with everyone at AMC today! Rest assured, Walt, Bry, Mike, Ming and I are suited up and ready to hit the ice for our second season with Team AMC.

Similarly, Nerdist creator and pop culture host Chris Hardwick gushed about the 'Talking Dead' renewal:

'Talking Dead' has been an amazing experience and I cannot pile enough hugs and thanks onto AMC for renewing it. I CAN’T WAIT for Season 3 of 'Walking Dead,' so that we can finally talk about Rick meeting [SPOILER] and [SPOILER]-ing him with a heavy-duty [SPOILER] at the [SPOILER]. And let’s not forget all the rest of the [SPOILER]s getting in on the action! [EXPLETIVE] me! It’s going to be great..."

“AMC set out to build shows around authentic characters and original worlds, and 'Comic Book Men' really delivers on both of these. Charlie Corwin and Kevin have created a truly unique show that is funny and informative – whether you like comic books or not; and the guys from The Stash are the kind of real life experts we always wanted to build the show around,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s Executive Vice President of original programming, production and digital content. “’Talking Dead’ is just great synergy and it gives our audience a destination to continue the conversation about ‘The Walking Dead.’ We are thrilled that Chris is back to lead the discussion. He is genuinely knowledgeable about the genre, and truly entertaining.”

Does the continuation of 'Talking Dead' get you pumped for the fall premiere of 'The Walking Dead' season 3?  How do you feel about AMC's continued expansion into reality programming, including their current 'Mad Men' take-off 'The Pitch'  Tell us what you'd like to see renewed in the comments!