It will be back on, and will remain on for quite a while.

CW pulled a pretty odd trick with this one. The first two seasons each had 22 episodes and premiered in the fall. But this past fall, when season 3 should have premiered, there was no sign of it, and no word from the network on when it would be back.

It was only in February, four months after the season should have premiered, that the network announced that it would return on May 21.

As if to apologize for the delay, CW renewed it for a fourth season at the same time.

That sounds like a pretty good deal, except season 3 will only have 13 episodes instead of 22. If the fourth season is short as well, that means that committing to the third and fourth seasons at once only results in four more episodes than a single full season would have.

This all sounds very diabolical, but of course it probably isn't. It seems as if the main decision was to switch "Beauty and the Beast" from a fall show to a summer show for season 3, and generally summer shows only get 13-episode orders.

Looking at it that way, it was an act of fairness to give the show a fourth season at the same time.

As for when the fourth season will air, the network only said "later in the 2015-2016 season," but it seems likely it will be the summer again. (The third season ends in August, so it's pretty unlikely the show will move back to the fall.)

"Beauty and the Beast" is another modern retelling of the classic fable. Kristin Kreuk plays a detective who is saved from being murdered by a mysterious, animalistic man, played by Jay Ryan. She seeks the man out and, of course, falls in love with him.

As for what fans can expect from season 3, the network has offered some hints (spoiler alert for those who haven't finished season 2, despite it having aired almost a year ago): "As season three begins, Cat and Vincent are able to focus on their love, finally free from Muirfield, manhunts and beasts. However, that love will be tested as new and more dangerous threats await."

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