'The Walking Dead' Introduces New Gay Character

Fans of "The Walking Dead" often wondered when the hit AMC show would introduce an openly gay male character (one of the current characters, Tara Chambler, is a lesbian) but at the end Sunday night's episode, a mysterious, handsome and clean-cut (at least for a zombie apocalypse) man, who kind of looked like he stepped out of a J Crew ad, appeared out of nowhere.

According to Vulture, this man, who introduced himself as a "friend," also appears in "The Walking Dead" comic books and is named Aaron. According to the comics (SPOILER ALERT) Aaron is a member of the Alexandria Safe-Zone group looking to recruit new members, specifically our main survivors.

"Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman teased that an out character from the comics would make an appearance in the second half of the zombie show's fifth season. In the comics Aaron has a boyfriend named Eric, so it looks like Aaron, who is played by Ross Marquand on the TV show, is the guy.

In this week's episode, "Them," Aaron shows up at the very end, after a deadly storm comes through. He looks clean, happy and well-fed and assures the survivors, Maggie and Sasha, who are standing their ground, pointing guns at him, that he comes as a friend with "good news." He asks to speak to Rick, and somehow knows him by name.

"Walking Dead" remains one of the highest-rated shows on TV, constantly pulling in strong ratings including an audience of 17.3 million for its Season Five premiere, making it the most-watched drama series telecast in basic cable history.

Watch this scene over at Vulture by clicking here.