In what should come as no surprise, my favorite new drama of the season has been picked up for Season 2.  There are 6 new episodes left this season, and the finale airs on June 8, making room for the eventual premiere of another great drama, RESCUE ME, on June 29.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release from FX:

“We are very excited about the tremendous, widespread acclaim that Justified has received from both audiences and television critics,” said Landgraf.  “Graham Yost, Tim Olyphant, Elmore Leonard and their talented partners have crafted a uniquely ambitious and entertaining series which is everything we aspired to when we developed the show.”

Developed for television by Graham Yost and starring Timothy Olyphant, Justified (TV-MA) is based on the popular Elmore Leonard character “Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens” from his short story Fire in the Hole and some of his other novels.

“I’m just thrilled, and I’m looking forward to chronicling the future adventures of Raylan Givens,” said Yost.  “To work with an actor like Tim, who was born to play this role, has been a wonderful experience.”

Through seven weeks, first-run episodes of Justified are averaging 3.4 million viewers and 1.7 million  Adults 18-49.  The weekly multi-run average viewership for the series is 7.5 million total viewers and 3.9 million Adults 18-49 (six episodes).   Justified is this year’s number-one rated new series on basic cable in delivery of Men 18-49 (1.1 million).  Justified was the most-watched series premiere in FX history, with 4.9 million total viewers, surpassing The Shield’s 4.8 million total viewers (3/12/02).

“This pick-up speaks volumes to the quality and collaboration on the series, and our unparalleled partnership with FX,” said Jamie Erlicht, President, Programming for Sony Pictures Television.  “The viewer response to Justified has been as enthusiastic as ours was when we first heard the pitch.”

What do you think?  Are you as excited as I am to see Raylan stick around?