Tonight, FX airs a special one-hour season finale of The League. Fans can take heart however that the show will be back next year. The cable channel has renewed The League for a fifth season of 13 episodes.

The comedy will go back into production in the summer and the new episodes will start airing in the fall.

Here’s the official press releease:

FX PICKS UP FIFTH SEASON OF “THE LEAGUE”

Network Orders 13 Episodes for Season Five

Production Will Begin Next Summer and Season Five Will Premiere in Fall of 2013

Season 4 Wraps Up Tonight with Two Episodes Back-to-Back at 10:30 and 11:00 PM E/P

LOS ANGELES, December 20, 2012 – FX has picked up a fifth season of its acclaimed comedy series The League, ordering 13 episodes, announced Nick Grad, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, FX Networks. The League season four finale airs tonight with back-to-back all new episodes at 10:30 and 11:00 PM ET/PT (see descriptions in bold below).

“The League is flat-out one of the funniest shows on television,” said Grad. “Co-creators Jeff and Jackie Schaffer have such a perfect take on the material and the show has an amazingly talented ensemble cast of stars. Another season was an easy decision and we hope to have it on our schedule for many more years to come.”

On a first-run basis, season four of The League is averaging 1.63 million Total Viewers and 1.45 million Adults 18-49. On a multi-run total basis, season four is delivering approximately 2.43 million Total Viewers and 2.09 million Adults 18-49 per week.

Jackie Schaffer said, “It’s a dream job – we get to make a show we love with a brilliant cast on a fearless network. If the Mayans and Dirty Randy are right and the world ends tomorrow, at least we can say we made it to Season 5.”

FX’s ensemble comedy follows a group of old friends in a fantasy football league who care deeply about one another – so deeply that they use every opportunity to make each other’s lives miserable. It was created by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Schaffer and Jackie Marcus Schaffer who serve as executive producers and directors. The cast features Mark Duplass, Stephen Rannazzisi, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Katie Aselton and Jon Lajoie. The series is produced by FX Productions.

In the first of tonight’s two-episode finale, “A Krampus Carol” (10:30 PM ET/PT), Andre and Trixie’s relationship is put to the test. Jenny and Pete make special offerings to Shiva. Rupert Ruxin (Jeff Goldblum) has a gift for his son while Taco challenges the Mall Santa. In the final episode, “The Curse of Shiva” (11 PM ET/PT), Gina Gibiatti returns and Pete has a decision to make. Ruxin enlists Rafi to protect himself during Scrote Season. Taco Corp has a New Year’s Eve bash.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in nearly 98 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series Sons of Anarchy and Justified; the mini-series American Horror Story: Asylum; the upcoming drama series The Americans; the acclaimed hit comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, Archer, Wilfred, BrandX with Russell Brand, and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell; and the upcoming comedy Legit. The network’s library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. FX’s other offerings include the acquired hit series Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, and live sports with UFC and NCAA football.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live+7 (000s)

What do you think? Are you still a fan of The League? Will you be tuning in for season five?