Third season will be eight episodes long

Fueled by respect rather than ratings, "Brotherhood" has earned a third season on Showtime.

The political-crime hybrid, which stars Jason Isaacs, Jason Clarke and Annabeth Gish, saw its ratings increase in its second season, though that audience boost was largely caused by record-breaking ratings for "Dexter."

The series set an audience high on Nov. 18 when an episode drew just over 650,000 viewers.

Showtime, though, likes having the drama around.

"'Brotherhood' is one of our shining hours at Showtime -– a drama series that is among the highest quality shows offered anywhere on television, and we're proud to keep it firmly in our portfolio," says Showtime Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt.

The third season order for "Brotherhood," a 2007 Peabody Award winner, is for eight episodes (the first two seasons were 11 and 10 episodes respectively) and will, once again, be filmed on location in Providence, Rhode Island.