On the heels of The Walking Dead season 4 finale last night on AMC, the network has confirmed that three new characters will return in bigger roles for season 5.

Actors Alanna Masterson, Christian Serratos, and Andrew J. West (also known as “the most attractive male character on the show” by this writer) have been promoted to series regulars for the new episodes, which will likely debut this October.

Masterson plays Tara, a character who made her debut in the first half of season 4 when she ran into The Governor and then took an interest in Glenn. Serratos plays Rosita, the woman traveling with Eugene and Abraham. She did not have much of a presence this season but presumably will grow into a greater role in season 5. In case you’re wondering, the actors who play Eugene and Abraham are already regulars.

Then there’s West, pictured right, who plays a new character named Gareth we were introduced to last night. He’s the leader of the people at Terminus and may be Rick and company’s biggest enemy in the first half of the season.

Work on The Walking Dead season 5 is well underway. In a new interview promoting the finale, showrunner Scott M. Gimple said that they’ve been busy writing scripts and already have a good idea of where the season is headed. “Really 85% of [the survivors] are together again, so it’s a pretty good guess that they’re going to remain together and that’s going to give us a whole new emotional dynamic as well,” he said.

The Walking Dead season 5 will premiere this fall on AMC. By the sounds of it, the first few episodes should live up to expectations set by the major cliffhanger on Sunday night.

Earlier today AMC announced that the zombie drama scored 15.7 million viewers last night. That is a new record high for the show in terms of finales, but lower than the number of viewers who tuned in for the premiere late last year.

Thanks, The Hollywood Reporter.