Cinemax has picked up Strike Back, their action TV series, for a third season of 10 episodes. They’ll shoot in South Africa and Hungary and are expected to begin airing in 2013.

Though this will be the third season on Cinemax, it will be the fourth season produced. The cable channel opted not to purchase or air the first season of of Strike Back. Six episodes aired in the UK in May 2010.

The Vengeance season of Strike Back is currently airing and is expected to finish on October 12th. The eight installments that have run so far have averaged a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 0.33 million total viewers.

Here’s the press release from the cable channel:

“STRIKE BACK” TO RETURN TO CINEMAX FOR SEASON THREE IN 2013

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2012 – The Emmy(R)-nominated series STRIKE BACK will return to CINEMAX in 2013 for a third season of ten new episodes, which will shoot in South Africa and Hungary. CINEMAX/HBO will again produce the series with partners Left Bank and Sky, who will air the series in the U.K. Returning for season three will be Left Bank’s Andy Harries as executive producer, series producer Michael Casey and head of production Marigo Kehoe. Sky’s Huw Kennair-Jones will executive produce.

Others returning for season three include director Michael Bassett (“Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”) and writers Simon Burke (“Persuasion”), James Dormer (“MI-5”) and Richard Zajdlic (“EastEnders”). Additional directors and writers will be announced as they are confirmed. Due to plot spoilers in upcoming episodes of season two, the cast of season three will be announced at a later date as well.

Also returning to the drama series for next season are the show’s confidential consultants, who work in the field of counterterrorism. Their expertise is a resource for story, lingo, procedure, accuracy, character development and regional issues, providing a look inside the highly secretive black ops world. They also train the cast in battle tactics, weapons and fighting, as the lead actors do most of their own stunts.

Debuting in 2011, STRIKE BACK was the first collaboration between CINEMAX/HBO and Sky. The first season introduced an unlikely pair of operatives in the stealth counterterrorism unit Section 20: Sgt. Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester), an exceptional British Special Forces (SBS) soldier, and the less-conventional Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton), a former U.S. Delta Force member. In the second season, currently debuting new episodes Fridays at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) and concluding its run Oct. 12, the team tracks nuclear triggers stolen by a powerful businessman with dangerous geo-political ambitions, while the two lead characters face personal challenges and contend with the pressures of their high-stress work.

In addition to Philip Winchester (“Crusoe,” “Camelot”) and Sullivan Stapleton (“Animal Kingdom,” the upcoming “Gangster Squad,” “300: The Battle for Artemesia”), season two stars of STRIKE BACK include Rhashan Stone (“Episodes”) and Michelle Lukes (“Alexander”). Season two guest stars include Rhona Mitra (“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”), Charles Dance (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), Vincent Regan (“Snow White and the Huntsman”), Liam Garrigan (“Pillars of the Earth”) and Shane Taylor (“Band of Brothers”).

The Los Angeles Times said the show “shoots high with plenty of action and thrills and a simmering bromance that’s fun to watch,” while New York’s Daily News hailed STRIKE BACK as “appointment television for the next 10 weeks” and the Washington Post described it as a “stylish and addictive new counterterrorism series.”

Recently nominated for an Emmy(R) in the category of Outstanding Main Title Design, STRIKE BACK was the first original primetime series on CINEMAX in more than 15 years. The next series to debut will be “Hunted,” launching Oct. 19, starring Golden Globe nominee Melissa George (“In Treatment,” “30 Days of Night”) and created and executive produced by Frank Spotnitz (“The X-Files”), followed in Jan. 2013 by “Banshee,” executive produced by Alan Ball (HBO’s “True Blood”) and Greg Yaitanes (“House”).

For more on the series, please visit facebook.com/cinemax, twitter.com @Cinemax #StrikeBack and youtube.com/Cinemax.

STRIKE BACK is a CINEMAX Presentation in association with British Sky Broadcasting Limited; a Left Bank Pictures Production; executive producers, Andy Harries for Left Bank and Huw Kennair-Jones for Sky; series producer, Michael Casey.

What do you think? Do you like the Strike Back TV series on Cinemax? Are you glad to hear that it will be back?