FX sets return date for end of May

Fans of FX's original series won't have to wait too long between the finale of the network's newest show, "Thief," to the return of "Rescue Me" later this spring.

Four weeks, to be precise: FX says "Rescue Me" will begin its third season on Tuesday, May 30. "Thief," a limited-run series that will run six episodes this season, is scheduled to have its finale on May 2. Movies and other programming will fill the intervening weeks.

"Rescue Me" will have plenty of material to chew on in its new season. Last year's finale found New York firefighter Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) a shattered man after the death of his son and several other members of his crew dealing with personal crises as well.

The season also ended with the Chief (Jack McGee) having to make a decision on care for his Alzheimer's-stricken wife, Franco (Daniel Sunjata) reeling from his breakup with Laura (Diane Farr, now on CBS' "Numb3rs") and Sean (Steven Pasquale) questioning his faith in the wake of Tommy's tragedy.

On top of it all, the crew was called to a building fire with people trapped inside.

Season two of "Rescue Me" averaged 2.8 million viewers per week, up slightly from its first go-round. It ended on a high note, drawing 3.6 million people to its finale. FX isn't spilling much about the coming season, but we do know that Susan Sarandon will guest-star in three episodes as a love interest for Franco.