You know that kid in the candy store? The one who’s excited beyond belief, most likely on the sugar high to end all freaking sugar highs, and bouncing off the walls like a super-bouncy small rubber ball. You know that kid?
Good … because that’s how I am right now. As I face the end of Eureka, a mere week or two away, a show I come to love and adore for it’s witty dialogue, imaginative story lines, and first class acting, it’s good to know that some shows I like will be around for a little while yet.
And one of those shows will be Falling Skies, which TNT has just announced will be back for a third season of 10 episodes in 2013. While a renewal was widely expected given the healthy ratings the show is enjoying (the show, according to the press release that announced the renewal, is currently averaging 5.9 million viewers including people watching on PVRs, meaning the series ranks as basic cable’s #1 summer drama with adults 18-49) , nothing is a given in the cut-and-thrust world of TV and you would have been a brave person to lay a bet on the show’s renewal with 100% certainty.
But in this case the confidence has proved well founded, and the continuing story of earth’s plucky resistance, personified by the everyman figure of Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) against the overwhelming might of their alien invaders will roll on for at least another year.
Announcing the renewal, Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) had this to say:
“Falling Skies is television storytelling at its very best, a powerful drama that’s told on both an epic scale and on a deeply personal level. With all the memorable and surprising moments taking place during the second season of Falling Skies, we can’t wait to see what DreamWorks Television and Falling Skies‘ terrific production team and cast members have in store for season three.”
I am even more excited because season 2 has been spectacularly good so far. The plots are getting tighter and tighter as each episode goes by, Connor Jessup (Ben Mason) is marking himself as an actor to watch, and the chance that the ragtag bunch of resistance fighters in the 2nd Mass., will receive assistance from an unexpected but powerful source is intriguing to say the least.
It all augurs well for a show that has many enthralling stories left to tell, and now thanks to this renewal, another year in which to tell it.
You can read the press release in full at collider.com