It's that time of year when TV shows start getting canceled left and right. But, we're happy to report that Fox's new drama, 9-1-1, won't be hitting the chopping block anytime soon. The first-responder series — starring Angela Bassett, Connie Britton, and Peter Krause — scored an early renewal shortly after its debut. Scroll down to read more about the pulse-pounding series!

It's coming back for a second season

Fox renewed the show on Jan. 16, after only two episodes had aired. In a statement, Fox execs Dana Walden and Gary Newman praised the show's creators — superstar producer Ryan Murphy and his frequent collaborators, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear — as well as its cast.

"With a bold concept, award-winning stars, and a flawless execution, Ryan, Brad, and Tim have done it again," the suits said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "They have tapped into the cultural zeitgeist and reimagined the procedural as only they could, bringing it to life with a dream team of actors led by Angela, Peter, and Connie. This is storytelling at its best, and we're so pleased that it's resonated with our audience. We'd like to thank everyone involved with this production for their stellar work, and we look forward to another thrilling season of 9-1-1."

Ryan Murphy was inspired by his family's real-life emergency

Ryan has been incubating the idea for this series ever since he and husband David Miller had to call 9-1-1 themselves, as he revealed at the Television Critics Association press tour panel for the show in January. "My son Ford was 11 months old and in the middle of the night stopped breathing," Ryan told reporters, according to Variety. "We called 9-1-1, and obviously we were in a panic and doing CPR, and they showed up, and at two in the morning there were four responders. They were incredibly calm and nurturing, and they brought him back to life."

It's not the most beloved Ryan Murphy show

Critics have not been particularly kind to 9-1-1. The first season carries a score of 60 on review aggregator Metacritic, faring worse than the first seasons of Ryan's other shows Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and The New Normal. "[9-1-1] is as outrageous as you'd expect from a Murphy production: Babies flushed down toilets! Snakes getting beheaded! Connie Britton with bad hair!" The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon quipped. "But it's also depressingly derivative and middle-of-the-road."

"As long as these first responders are on the job, careening from one wild crisis to another, 9-1-1 has the making of a hit," said TV Guide Magazine's Matt Roush, per Metacritic. "It's when we go off duty with these heroes, played by one of TV's most ridiculously overqualified casts that the show flatlines with maudlin subplots that might have been rejected by General Hospital." Ouch. On the plus side, though, the show's first season scored better than that of Ryan's previous Fox drama, Scream Queens. (Small victories?) Plus, 11 million viewers can't be too wrong, right?