Jemel Countess/WireImage.comUpdate 5:17 p.m.: Network sources confirm that Gabrielle Union (love her!) will be joining Life as "special guest star in a multiepisode story arc." And as Rand told us, she'll be a partner for Crews, but she's apparently playing an important role for Dani Reese as well: "Reese will not be pregnant on the show. But we will take this opportunity to not only bring on a new detective but to explore a new path in Reese's life that takes her back to a darkly familiar place." Awesome.
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Life is back tonight! The fan-favorite cop show (a drama that is also tremendously funny) ended in December with the shocking drive-by shooting of Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis), and fans have been waiting with bated breath to find out two things: Is he OK, and whodunit?
Read on for the word from Life's big boss, executive producer Rand Ravich, about the coming episodes, as well as dish about the future of the series: Will Life be back for season three?
According to Rand, "We will find out who shot Charlie Crews on Wednesday night. We didn't want to have this be stretched out. We want to have the answer be satisfying but have it open up more questions." As for Charlie and Dani, even with the shooting momentarily bringing them closer together, Rand says, "What's going to happen to them over the course of the season is that now they're at the point in their relationship where they begin to doubt each other."
That, of course, leads to Dani's move to the FBI task force (in part because Sarah Shahi is preggo), which means that Charlie is left behind. Says Rand, "Crews will be getting a series of new partners. We're talking to someone to come in and do four episodes. It has not actually been booked, so I can't tell you who it is yet, but it's a woman."
As for the general gist of the coming episodes, Rand spills, "There will be blood. There will be more shooting and more blood and more vengeance. There will be plenty of humor and certainly delight, but things will get much more dynamic as we come down to the end. There are questions that have to be answered. Charlie Crews will always be dancing between light and dark, but there are dark issues that need to be resolved."
Sweet. Now what about the future of the show? According to Rand, "We haven't heard anything. I think television and NBC and everything are up in the air, and certainly the Jay Leno thing carves out an enormous chunk of prime time over here at my network. Programming decisions are way above my pay grade, but no, they haven't mentioned anything."
Dear NBC: Please renew Life for a third season. Thank you. Love, Team WWK
Dear USA: If NBC cancels Life, please pick it up. It has characters, so help us, you're all part of the same corporate family, and Life is awesome. Thank you. Love, Team WWK
Sign the petition for more Life below, and be sure to tune in when it premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC!
—Reporting by Jennifer Godwin