4400 Times Three at USA
The 4400 won't be going anywhere for a while, as USA has asked for another season of its Emmy-nominated alien-abductee series.
Production on the show's third season is scheduled to begin in January, with new episodes slated for summer 2006. The 4400 has found both critical and ratings success in each of the past two summers, scoring some of basic cable's best ratings for scripted series.
"Even in this increasingly competitive climate, renewing The 4400 was an easy call," says Jeff Wachtel, head of original programming at USA. "Its compelling characters fit perfectly within the USA brand. And the creative team's ability to balance story, character and 'big themes' really makes this show unique."
The show's short first season in 2004 earned three Emmy nominations, including one for outstanding miniseries. The second season, expanded to 13 episodes, consistently drew better than 4 million viewers; USA also says it was the No. 1 scripted show on cable this summer among the coveted adults 18-49 demographic.
The third season of The 4400 will continue to follow the lives of the 4,400 abductees who returned to Earth in a giant ball of light and the government agents responsible for keeping track of the returnees and their sometimes supernatural abilities.