Major Crimes will return to TNT tonight with the second half of season four. The series, which stars Mary McDonnell, has been given a 23-episode fourth season. That is not the norm for TNT or this series. The series will air five episodes in February to wrap up the large order.

The high episode order has fans worried about the future of the series because it has not yet been renewed for a fifth season. Is it headed toward cancellation? James Duff, the man behind the series, tried to ease fan worries when he spoke with TV Line about the return of the series.

“That’s not at all the case. [TNT was] looking to have some original content on the air in February, and they had not much to choose from at the time. TNT has made no secret of its desire to move to edgier fare, but I think they also want to do that without losing the audience they already have. Cable makes its money not by demos, but by subscribers. So we’re valuable to TNT in that sense.”

As for the extra five episodes that will air in February, Duff teased about those as well.

“We thought, Why not push ourselves to do a bigger story? So we’re doing that, and it will take five episodes to tell it.”

The story arc for the five episodes will involve a 12-year-old murder case that comes back into focus because the gun used in that case was used in a new double homicide.

Major Crimes will air its fall batch of episodes on Monday nights on TNT. Are you excited for tonight’s premiere? Tell us what you think.