AMC announced the third season of The Walking Dead will be 16 episodes (Season 2 is 13 episodes) and split in half like this season according to Zap2It.
The news came at the Television Critics Winter Press tour where creator/Executive Producer Robert Kirkman dismissed rumors about the appearance of fan favorite character Michonne joining the second half of the current season.
Co-Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd says 2 new writers will join the team and the writing for season three begins the next week.