The Walking Dead Season 6 Release Date, Spoilers Ahead: What You Need to Know

Sep 16, 2015 10:04 AM EDT

Expect a darker, more sinister and more blood in the upcoming season six of AMC's highly successful zombie apocalypse drama The Walking Dead when it officially airs on October 11.

PEOPLE magazine unveiled an exclusive first look photo of The Walking Dead Season 6 showing fan favorite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) wiping his hands off fresh blood. It was not clear from the picture if the blood came from a walker or a fellow Alexandria resident or from new villains called The Survivors or from Wolves.

AMC said in a statement, "Season 6 starts with Alexandria's safety shattered by multiple threats. To make it, the people of Alexandria will need to catch up with our survivors' hardness while many of our survivors will need to take a step back from the violence and pragmatism they've needed to embrace. These reversals won't happen easily, or without conflict."

"Now Rick's group is fighting for something more than survival," continues the network's teaser statement. "They're fighting for their home, and they will defend that at any cost, against any threat, even if that threat comes from within."

Rick Grimes Will Have His Hands Full in Season 6

Season 6 of The Walking Dead will also see Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) faced with many challenges and will have his hands full. In the finale of season 5, he shot and killed town doctor Pete on the behest of Deana as his old pal Morgan watched.

Outside Alexandria, various threats are lurking and threatening the peaceful community. Wolves and zombies are roaming outside, as well as new villains called The Survivors, led by a ruthless and evil character named Negan.

Negan's group of "The Survivors" was able to penetrate into the Alexandria Safe-Zone immediately after Rick takes over the community. And in the comics, readers would know that Negan mercilessly killed Glenn. That's bad news for Glenn and his fans if he will be one of the major characters to be killed in the upcoming season.

Trouble Brewing in Alexandria

The latest teaser from AMC showed Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) with his long hair. However, not everyone in the community are happy that Rick's group was given too much authority and has started to turn their once peaceful town into a world of violence and death. Some of the town folks at Alexandria will be vocal with their opinion against this new set up.

"There was a huge upheaval in Alexandria at the end of [Season 5]. What position of leadership does it put Rick into, how he handles new responsibilities and what he does with them is a big part of what we are exploring," Robert Kirkman commented in the summer 2015 issue of the official Walking Dead magazine.

The reunion between Rick and Morgan Jones (Lennie James) will not always be pleasant and the two are expected to have some conflicts along the way, James commented on Yahoo TV, "I can say that where Rick is and where Morgan is, they will find common grounds. But they will also be in conflict. That's about as much as I can say."

The Walking Dead season 6 returns on 11 October 2015 on AMC.