At the end of July, AMC closed the curtain on "The Killing" after a disappointing second season that saw flagging viewership and overall criticism for an arc that routinely saw the narrative spin its wheels. But, less than a month later, word emerged that both Netflix and DirecTV came calling, looking to team up with Fox TV Studios to revive the show. Then, a few weeks ago, AMC was back in the game, with reports that they might team with Netflix to make the third season happen. And well, for fans of the show, the good news is that the show is definitely coming back.

AMC has now set a late May 2013 bow for the third season, with development starting imminently. While Netflix's involvement isn't yet confirmed -- the deal hasn't been finalized -- it does seem as if AMC will be partnering with somebody to help share the costs, which seems to be the reason "The Killing" is coming back at all. As for the storyline, there's no word yet, however, Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos last we heard were apparently both already signed to return (though Variety suggests this may not be the case, but we can't really see the show happening without them) while Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton may not come back. Billy Campbell is also uncertain at the moment.

Either way, "The Killing" really has to come back ferociously and with some purpose if it wants to survive past the third season. As we wrote about season two, "[it] soon turned into an irritating jerk around, resulting in a kind of blue balls for the audience." Hopefully the writers and showrunner Veena Sud have heard the criticism and are ready to have this show live up to its potential.