E! said it has ordered a third, 10-episode season of The Royals, as the second season heads toward a Sunday, Jan. 17 finale. The show, co-produced by Lionsgate and Universal Cable Productions, stars Elizabeth Hurley, William Moseley and Alexandra Park as a fictional, contemporary royal family and is averaging 1.3 million total viewers and 754,000 in the adults 18-49 bracket this season (live plus three days), according to E!

The NBCUniversal-owned network said The Royals ranks second among new original scripted series of 2015 among persons 18-49 across ad-supported cable, excluding spinoffs. 

E! will follow The Royals scripted series with a drama show The Arrangement, the network said Thursday.

The Arrangement, executively produced by Jonathan Abrahams (Mad Men), and revolves around a young actress who, after scoring a lead role opposite the Hollywood’s top actor, is forced to decide whether to sign a contract that details every move of their off-screen relationship.

The series follows the success of The Royals, which has already been renewed for a second season.

“Jonathan has written a terrific script that juxtaposes a very public Hollywood romance with darker, more nefarious elements. We are excited to work with Universal Cable Productions and Objective to make this pilot and bring the story to life,” said Kevin Plunkett, senior vice president of scripted programming for E! in a statement.  “The Arrangement is the perfect follow-up to the success of The Royals, taking the E! brand further into the scripted space with young skewing, escapist stories.”

E! will have a regal presence in the NFL’s Big Game.

The network will run its first-ever Super Bowl spot in the fourth quarter of broadcast brethren NBC’s presentation of Super Bowl XLIX touting its first-ever original scripted series, The Royals.

The spot, part of NBCU’s “Symphony”  promotional push behind The Royals, will take viewers inside the high stakes world of the show’s fictional British royal family, led by Elizabeth Hurley, Alexandra Park and William Moseley, via a “mini movie” of sorts.

Check out a teaser here.

A co-production of Lionsgate and Universal Cable Productions, The Royals will bow on March 15 and has already been picked up for a second campaign, production of which will kick off this spring in London. 

Hurley and Vincent Regan portray Queen Helena and King Simon, while Moseley and  Park are their devious and scandalous royal twins, Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor.  

As we welcome in all the promise of the New Year, some viewers are preparing to bid farewell to their favorite series and stars.

A number of marquee shows have already announced they will end their successful runs over the next 12 months. Arguably the most celebrated series departing, after a stellar seven-season run, is AMC’s Mad Men. The Matthew Weiner-produced drama chronicling a 1960s advertising agency has received nearly universal critical acclaim for its storytelling, historical authenticity and style — not to mention terrific acting led by series star John Hamm.

The series has also brought home a ton of hardware — 15 Emmy awards and four Golden Globe Awards since its launch in 2007. The final seven episodes of the series will air this spring.

Other shows also saying goodbye in 2015 include TBS’ Courteney Cox starrer Cougar Town, which debuts its sixth and final season Tuesday (Jan. 5); Showtime’s Nurse Jackie — led by multi Emmy winner Eddie Falco’s portrayal of conflicted emergency room nurse Jackie Peyton — which ends its seventh season later this year; and FX’s critically-acclaimed drama Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant as no-nonsense lawman Raylan Givens. That series will begin its sixth and final season on Jan. 20.

Certainly the loss of these and other quality scripted shows will somewhat diminish what many observers believe is a “golden age” of scripted programming on cable television. Fortunately for the industry and viewers, a number of new series are coming that hope to reach the same lofty heights as those shows leaving the air.

E! and Pivot will both jump into the scripted ring in 2015 with dramas The Royals and Fortitude, respectively; newly branded Pop will roll out comedy Schitt’s Creek; A&E will tap the supernatural genre with Returned; Netflix will ride the superhero wave with Marvel's Daredevil; and AMC will debut the much anticipated Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul in the new year, just to name a few.

Some of these shows, along with a slew of other new and returning scripted, reality and limited series, will be showcased over the next few weeks during the upcoming Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif.; the cable portion of the tour begins Wednesday (Jan. 7).

While viewers will be sad to see a number of cable series mainstays leave their TV schedules, they should be encouraged to know that more than enough new series are launching to keep them entertained throughout the New Year.

E! Entertainment has selected the Ides of March to unveil its first scripted drama.

The Royals, depicting the lives of a fictional monarchy in modern times, will bow on Sunday, March 15 at 10 p.m. (ET).

The 10-episode season, produced by Lionsgate, will brim with love, hate, lust and revenge amidst the backdrop of limitless power, but where trust is a hard-to-find possession. Elizabeth Hurley and Vincent Regan star as Queen Helena and King Simon, along with William Moseley as Prince Liam and Alexandra Park as Princess Eleanor.

The ensemble cast comprises Merritt Patterson, Jake Maskall, Ukweli Roach, Tom Austen, Sophie Colquhoun, and Oliver Milburn. Joan Collins will also guest star as the Grand Duchess of Oxford.

The Royals is executive-produced, written and directed by Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill), and executive-produced by Brian Robbins, Joe Davola (One Tree Hill, Smallville), and Shauna Phelan.

Check out a trailer here.,