The Walking Dead season 9 finale ending: Who was the voice on the radio in episode 16 and how does this set up season 10?

*Major spoilers for The Walking Dead season 9 finale below*

The Walking Dead season nine has drawn to a close with a much different episode to the one that saw the death of three main characters last week.

This instalment, titled “The Storm”, saw characters were pitted against the weather, as snow descended upon the AMC series’s landscape.

It also found time to set up the 10th season, which will shortly begin filming.

The closing scene of the finale saw former Kingdom leader, Ezekiel (Khary Payton) – now a Hilltop resident – communicate with Judith (Cailey Fleming) via radio.

As they sign off the transmission, Ezekiel walks away and the camera stays fixed on the machine. After static sounds, an unknown voice can be heard saying: “Hello, can you hear me? Is anybody out there?”

Speaking about the decision to end the season on this note, showrunner Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter: “We always like to have a little bit of mystery for the audience [and] the radio voice falls in that mould. Any time we have a mysterious moment like this, whenever we have different entities and people come into our characters’ world, it’s something that’s going to turn the story in a new direction. Hopefully it’s all something you’ll enjoy seeing in the next season.”

While there’s no knowing what exactly Kang has in mind for the 10th season, it’s a sure bet the series will introduce an ongoing story arc in Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s comic book series: The Commonwealth.

Based in Ohio, The Commonwealth is home to over 50,000 people – a full-sized community with jobs, theatre and a military force. It’s the place that many suspected Maggie (Lauren Cohan) to have upped sticks and left for after her season eight meeting with Georgie (Jayne Atkinson), a mysterious woman who may or may not be doubling as the community’s leader, Pamela Milton.

It’s a huge hint at yet another universe expansion – probably the show’s most ambitious one yet and suggests the show is dangerously close to catching up with the source material.

In the comics, the woman heard on the radio is called Stephanie and she sparks a friendship with Eugene (Josh McDermitt) who’s in mourning following the death of Rosita (Christian Serratos) at the hands of Alpha (Samantha Morton). As fans know, the show strayed from this plot twist, killing Tara (Alanna Masterson) – among others - instead

Before The Commonwealth, though, it seems the characters will have to fend off The Whisperers after crossing the border of spikes in order to survive the weather in the finale. Still, perhaps The Commonwealth’s military force could lend a hand?

The Walking Dead returns to FOX and AMC in October.