Witness protection series stars Mary McCormack, Frederick Weller, Leslie Ann Warren and Cristian de la Fuente

The summer hit "In Plain Sight" will return for a second season, USA announced on Sunday (July 20) afternoon.

The "In Plain Sight" renewal is hardly a surprise given that the series has been cable's top new scripted series of 2008, averaging 5.22 million viewers per episode since it premiered at the beginning of June.

USA has ordered 16 episodes for the second "In Plain Sight" season. Production is expected to begin in October in and around Albuquerque, with Paul Stupin staying on as executive producer.

"In Plain Sight" has helped USA become the top cable network in its Sunday 10 p.m. ET time slot, also averaging 2.21 million viewers in the 18-49 demo and 2.56 million among adults 25-54. The drama has also retained its week-to-week audience, with its July 13 episode delivering the largest overall viewership since its premiere and showing improvements in most key demos over the previous episode.

The series stars Mary McCormack ("The West Wing") as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal working in a branch of the witness protection program. Series co-stars include Frederick Weller, Leslie Ann Warren and Cristian de la Fuente.