Foxtel today announced the showcase channel will be the new exclusive home of worldwide smash-hit series The Walking Dead when it returns for its latest season 8B starting Monday February 26.

In addition, Foxtel’s showcase will also exclusively premiere new episodes of follow up series Talking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick, as well as fan favourite spin off series Fear The Walking Dead when it returns for Season 4 in April 2018 – both will air Express from the US.

Foxtel Executive Director of Television, Brian Walsh said, “We are delighted that this hugely popular series will now join showcase, exclusively for our Foxtel audience. We will continue to air the new season express from the US at 1.30pm, and for the first time with no ad-breaks in its primetime encore at 7.30pm.

“The Walking Dead will join Foxtel’s number one series Game of Thrones on our super drama channel, showcase along with our top rating series including Outlander, Big Little Lies, Westworld, Wentworth and A Place To Call Home.”

Talking Dead will air Mondays from February 26 at 10.30pm and will also be available On Demand the same day as broadcast. Talking Dead is the first after-show that serves as a platform for discussing The Walking Dead. The hour-long episodes feature host Chris Hardwick spending time with fans, actors, producers and TV enthusiasts, recapping the most recent Dead episode, providing sneak-peeks and discussion of upcoming episodes and taking questions and comments from viewers.

In the return of Season 8 of The Walking Dead, the all-out war waged by Rick and the unified groups has had a devastating impact on every person involved. The communities themselves are fractured. Alexandria has been destroyed and Carl has been bitten by a walker. The Hilltop finds themselves pinned, and the Kingdom is shattered. Negan continues to deal with struggles within his ranks as workers, traitors, and others’ thirst for power cause conflict at the Sanctuary.

As all-out-war consumes all the groups, the line between good and evil continues to blur, and people are still fighting for what they believe in. Everybody must work together for something bigger – to feel safe and have a world worth living in.

For viewers wanting to catch up on the past seasons 1 through to 8A of The Walking Dead, every episode is currently available to stream through Foxtel On Demand on internet-connected iQ set-top-boxes and on streaming service Foxtel Now.

Following its live broadcast on Foxtel’s showcase channel, The Walking Dead will be available to watch from Foxtel’s On Demand library, or streamed On Demand on Foxtel’s streaming service, Foxtel Now. All times are in AEDT.

-Brad