AMC has announced that production on The Walking Dead season 3 has begun as of today!

To mark the occasion, the network has released a great new interview with comic creator and show exec producer Robert Kirkman.

In it, we learn about the much-anticipated prison where the survivors will call their home this season:

Q: What went into constructing the prison?

A: They’ve taken a lot of what you see in the comic book series and brought it to life in ways that I didn’t think possible. This is going to be one of the most impressive looking things that’s ever been put together for a show.

Q: The room in the prison with all the guns and the SWAT gear in the comic is really cool. Is that going to come up on the show?

A: We’re a big fan of the SWAT gear here at The Walking Dead writer’s room… maybe that’s an indication that we’ll be seeing that stuff in the show. It’s important to us to maintain the tone of the show. Thus far [the characters] have been out on the road, desperate and living in the heat, and we don’t want it to be that they’re relaxing in this safe place now.

Q: With the evil Governor in the picture, does that mean the humans are the bigger threat this season?

A: The plan was always to evolve naturally into a place were the zombies essentially become a manageable threat. You know the rules. You know how to deal with them. To a certain extent they become something to not really be scared of unless you mess up. Humans, however, do not follow any rules and will always do something that surprises you and are capable of doing things far worse than trying to eat you…We’re definitely going to be seeing a lot of horrible things.

Read much more, including Kirkman’s thoughts on Michonne, over on AMC’s blog.

The Walking Dead returns this fall.