Though the cable channel cancelled The Hard Times of RJ Berger last week, MTV still loves high school drama. They’ve just renewed Awkward for a second season. The half-hour scripted series premiered in mid-July and still has eight episodes left to air this season. The season one finale is expected to air in early October.

MTV has ordered another dozen episodes for season two of Awkward and they’ll air sometime in 2012.

Here’s the official press release:

MTV GETS EVEN MORE “AWKWARD” PICKING UP A SECOND SEASON OF ITS HIT COMEDY

Tune in Tuesday, August 16 for an All-New Episode

Santa Monica, CA. (August 15, 2011) – MTV announced today that it has picked up a second season of its critically acclaimed hit scripted comedy series “Awkward.” The show, which takes an irreverent look at the conflict, chaos and humor that defines teenage life, continues its season one run on Tuesday nights with 7 all-new remaining episodes. Season two will debut in 2012.

“‘Awkward’ has really resonated with our young audience marking yet another successful push into scripted programming and the further diversification of our schedule,” said David Janollari head of MTV Programming. “Lauren Iungerich has created a truly unique, contemporary young female voice, brought to life by the show’s incredibly talented cast.”

Last week’s episode delivered a series high 2.0 rating among P12-34, up 21% from the previous week, and was the top show in its time period among F12-34. Since its July 19 debut, 1.7 million viewers have tuned into “Awkward.” each week.

In tomorrow night’s episode, airing Tuesday, August 16 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, The awkwardness continues for Jenna. On the heels of Matty telling her that he doesn’t want to be in a relationship, she spots him with a mystery girl and fears he’s already replaced her.

“Awkward.” stars Ashley Rickards (“One Tree Hill”) as Jenna; Beau Mirchoff (“Desperate Housewives”) as Matty; Molly Tarlov (“Huge,” “iCarly”) as Sadie; Jillian Rose Reed (“Weeds”) as Tamara; Brett Davern (“Junk,” “Triple Dog,” ) as Jake; Nikki DeLoach (“North Shore,” “Love and Other Drugs”) as Lacey; Desi Lydic (“Traffic Light,” “Two and a Half Men”) as Valerie; Jessica Lu (“CSI,” “Law & Order: Los Angeles”) as Ming; Mike Faiola (“Seeing Other People”) as Kevin; and Greer Grammer (“iCarly”) as Lissa.

The series was created by Lauren Iungerich who also serves as executive producer. Justin Levy and Anne Marie McGintee are the MTV executives in charge of production.

For even more “Awkward.” moments, follow the show on Twitter @MTVAwkward or find it on Facebook.

About MTV:
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is the leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

What do you think? Are you glad to hear that Awkward has been renewed? Or, do you think it should have been cancelled instead?

Image courtesy MTV.