CBS has picked up their successful new summer drama Under the Dome for a second season of 13 episodes. They’ll debut next summer.

The first season of Under the Dome is currently airing and the season finale will be broadcast on September 16th.

Here’s the network press release:

“UNDER THE DOME” RENEWED FOR SUMMER 2014

Television’s #1 Summer Series to Return with 13 New Episodes

Stephen King to Write the Premiere Episode for Season 2

UNDER THE DOME, television’s #1 summer series in viewers and key demographics, will return in summer 2014 with 13 new episodes, it was announced today by Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment.

Stephen King, whose bestselling novel is the basis for the series, will write the premiere episode of the second season.

“We’re excited to tell more stories about the mystery of the dome and the secrets in Chester’s Mill, and are thrilled to have the master storyteller himself, Stephen King, tell the first one of next season,” said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler.

UNDER THE DOME is a serialized drama from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel of the same name. It tells the story of a small town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s inhabitants must deal with surviving the post-apocalyptic conditions while searching for answers to what this barrier is, where it came from, and if and when it will go away.

UNDER THE DOME is averaging 13.84 million viewers, 3.5/10 in adults 18-49 and 4.8/12 in adults 25-54. In addition to impressive live plus same day ratings on CBS, the series has also seen significant additional viewing on DVR playback, video-on-demand and online streaming – including Amazon’s Prime Instant Video, which provides exclusive online subscription streaming four days after the broadcast on CBS. Amazon says that since the show’s launch, UNDER THE DOME has been watched by more customers than any other series on the service.

UNDER THE DOME is produced by CBS Television Studios in association Amblin Television. Neal Baer, Stephen King, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Stacey Snider, Jack Bender and Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote the television adaptation, are executive producers.

What do you think? Are you a fan of Under the Dome? Are you glad that the show was renewed for a second season or do you think it should have been cancelled instead?