Put the kids to bed early this October because, according to Andrew Lincoln, Season 4 of "The Walking Dead" isn't for children.

"We're really earning our rating this season," Lincoln told Entertainment Weekly for their special four-cover issue. "There are families that watch it together, but just so it's on the record, guys -- it's a grown-up show this season."

Some of the gore is likely contributed to by the mass number of walkers that will be seen this season. Season 4 had 9,000, according to Huffington Post.

"I can tell you that in the mid-season finale that we just finished shooting there were upwards of 800 walkers for just that episode," Greg Nicotero, the show's executive producer and makeup artist, said. "I haven't done the tally yet for this season, but being out in the world it's a little trickier to avoid zombies. When you're in the prison, you have a safe haven. The zombies aren't so much of an everyday occurrence, whereas in this season we're out in the world at some point so they're there."

Season 5 will reportedly have many settings, a possible sign of multi-layered storylines.

"By minute two or three of our season premiere, I think the vast majority of our questions have been answered, and five or six more have been presented, so you're very much going to be invested, well-informed, and ready for the ride that we're going to take you on," Robert Kirkman, "The Walking Dead" comic book creator and show executive producer and writer, told EW.

Season 5 will also feature a tribute in Episode 1, Nictotero told Huffington Post, although it's a "little more subtle, and this time it's not necessarily a zombie."

"We hit certain milestones from the comic book that are tailored to our show and our characters, and certain storylines that we see in the comic book we will see in various places through Season 5," he continued.

Season 5 of "The Walking Dead" premieres on AMC on Oct. 12 at 9 p.m.

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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