FX series begins final season in September

After 15 months of waiting, fans of "The Shield" will finally get to see the show's final season this fall.

FX has set Tuesday, Sept. 2 as the premiere date for the seventh and last season of the show, which established the cable network as a destination for original series and set the template for future edgy FX series ranging from "Rescue Me" to "Damages." The season premiere comes a year and three months after the most recent original episode in June 2007.

That's more than a year of waiting to see just how deep Shane (Walton Goggins) has got himself with the Armenians, and whether Vic (Michael Chiklis) and Aceveda (Benito Martinez) will end up in yet another uneasy alliance against a common foe, in this case the politically connected Cruz Pezuela (F.J. Rio).

"The Shield" finished its principal photography on season seven last fall. The writers strike and the particulars of FX's schedule, with "Dirt" and "The Riches" each getting springtime runs, led to the longer-than-usual gap between seasons.

The show earned a pair of Golden Globe Awards in 2003, for best drama series and Chiklis' performance as Vic Mackey. Chiklis also won an Emmy later that year, becoming the first lead actor in an ad-supported cable series to win both awards.