Under The Dome is coming back for a 13-episode second season and Stephen King, the author whose 2009 novel the CBS drama series is based, will pen the premiere episode when it returns in Summer 2014.

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler on the renewal: “We’re excited to tell more stories about the mystery of the dome and the secrets in Chester’s Mill, and are thrilled to have the master storyteller himself, Stephen King, tell the first one of next season.”

In all, 17.8 million total viewers tuned into the series premiere in June and the show also proved its worth in the adults 18-49 demo landing a 4.6 rating. Though those numbers have dropped since, they still remain elevated at a level strong enough to warrant a second season; the most recent episode attracted a sizable audience with 11.4 million viewers and a 2.8 rating in the coveted demo. The show is performing solidly internationally and on Amazon where CBS has an exclusive deal enabling Instant Video subscribers to stream episodes four days after they air. In fact, Dome is the most watched series ever on Amazon’s streaming service.

All in all, Under the Dome is proving to be great summer fare and it’s showing the other networks that scripted TV can work outside the traditional September-to-May window. (FOX enters the fray next summer with new drama Gang Related and the return of 24.) The show’s got some kinks to work out (the character Angie, for example, drives me up a wall with her terrible decisions…and what exactly are Junior’s motives?) and the pacing and character development need to be accelerated. But the overall mystery of the dome and the secrets being spilled inside it have me intrigued enough to want to see more. I gladly accept a series renewal.

Under The Dome airs Mondays at 10 on CBS.