FOX renews 'Terminator' series for 2008-09

Judgment Day won't come for at least one more season.

FOX has picked up its freshman series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" for 2008-09. The show earned a 13-episode order for 2008-09, on the heels of its strike-shortened and reasonably successful nine-episode run earlier this year.

The pickup isn't a big surprise; FOX Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said in an interview last week that the show was already hiring staff.

"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" enjoyed a big premiere in January following an NFL playoff game, drawing better than 18 million viewers. The show's ratings fell off in its regular home on Mondays, but it still averaged 10.8 million viewers and a 4.5 rating among adults 18-49. In the latter category it's the top-rated new scripted series this season.

The series stars Lena Headey as the title character, who's obsessed with protecting her son John ( Thomas Dekker), the future leader of the human resistance against the machines that will one day wipe out most humanity. Summer Glau and Richard T. Jones also star, and Brian Austin Green, who appeared in five episodes this season, will be a regular next year.

FOX has several shows in development that could form a sci fi-tinged block with "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," including Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" and "Fringe," from J.J. Abrams' company.