It's a new series that has apparently lived up to its hype.

TNT has decided to order a second 10-episode season of "Falling Skies," allowing alien invasion fans to enjoy more of the series next summer, according to Deadline.com.

"Falling Skies" premiered to 8 million viewers in June, and has since averaged just under 6.5 million -- all solid numbers for a cable series. It stars Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood and Drew Roy. The series starts after an alien invasion force, known as Skitters, has invaded the planet, and is trying to wipe the planet of all the humans they don't need. They have turned to enslaving adolescents using a device on their back that controls them.

The series was created by Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg, and began development for TNT in 2009. Rodat is best known for writing the script for "Saving Private Ryan," which would win Spielberg his second directing Oscar.

Production of the series took quite a while. The pilot was actually shot in 2009, with remaining episodes going before the cameras in 2010.

It was then another year before it actually premiered on TNT, meaning a decision to start work on more episodes for a second season would have to be made quickly. With the pickup, writers can now start breaking the second season, with production expected to begin in the fall.

The show not only has a strong cast, but an all-star production crew as well. It includes Mark Verheiden from "Battlestar Galactica" and Greg Beeman from "Heroes." Graham Yost also is an executive producer, having most recently worked on the critically acclaimed HBO series "The Pacific."

A renewal was pretty much expected, even before the show aired. TNT had already named "Caprica" co-creator Remi Aubuchon as the showrunner for Season 2. He will lead a new writing room, since so much time has passed between crafting the first season scripts and the Season 2 pickup -- many of the writers had moved on to other projects.

"Falling Skies" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.