07/30/2012 22:18

By Kristin Dos Santos

Laura Linney's The Big C will live on. Just a teeeensy bit longer.

In a somewhat surprising move, Showtime announced today the cancer dramedy series will receive a fourth season...but it will only be four episodes long. The upside for fans? Those episodes will be a full hour long, instead of the prior 30-minute format.

"From its inception, the show has been unique and we've found a creative way to bring conclusion to Cathy's story," Showtime Entertainment president David Nevins told reporters today at the Television Critics Association press tour.

The third season was only 10 episodes long and garnered an audience of roughly 500,000 viewers. It was not known if the series would return at all, but Showtime decided to give Cathy (Linney) a proper send-off.