A&E’s ‘Longmire’ Renewed For Season 3, For Real This Time

Back toward the end of August, 'Longmire' executive producer John Coveny capped off the Wyoming-set lawman drama's second season with news that a third would soon be on the way, though A&E curiously denounced the revelation as premature. Now, three months later, we can officially confirm Sheriff 'Longmire' will return for season 3 in 2014!

The third season will consist of another 10 episodes, likely to run in summer 2014, though it remains unclear what exactly held up A&E's official negotiations to delay the announcement by 3 months. Previously, Coveny had tweeted “Thanks to the 5 million plus weekly fans (live+7). Young and older skewing alike! The call just came: SEASON 3 for #Longmire is a GO!”

This time around, A&E General Manager and Executive Vice PresidentDavid McKillop had his own comments on the news:

’Longmire’ has become one of the most compelling dramas on television with a devoted audience and we are so proud of the show. We are thrilled to continue our wonderful partnership with Warner Horizon Television, the production team, and the talented cast and crew led by the exceptional Robert Taylor.

For those unfamiliar with the series, based on the book by Craig Johnson, ‘Longmire’ follows Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) of Absaroka County, Wyoming, who returns to work following the murder of his wife. Also starring in the series is Katee Sackhoff (‘Riddick‘), Lou Diamond Phillips, Bailey Chase, Cassidy Freeman and Adam Bartley.

In its second season, 'Longmire' averaged 3.7 million total viewers with the second season finale, delivering a season high of 4.4 million total viewers. The show continues as A&E’s number one original drama series of all time in total viewers, eclipsing the arguably more buzzed-about 'Bates Motel.'

Well, what say you? Are you happy 'Longmire' will officially return next year? What stories would you want to see Walt & co. tackle in summer 2014?