This is the scary time of the TV series year, when nearly everyone involved in a show or a hoped-for show waits on pins and needles for word of pickup or cancellation. Today the wait is over for one of my favorites, and happily it’s great news, as Starz has announced pickup of Season 3 of Da Vinci’s Demons.

Series creator and extremely busy man David S. Goyer, however, will not be returning as showrunner, though he’ll remain on board as executive producer. While this is sometimes cause for concern, taking Goyer‘s place as showrunner is John Shiban, who wrote for The X-Files and therefore can do little wrong in my eyes.

According to Deadline, Shiban also has another show in the works at Starz, Blackbirds, based on the book by Chuck Wendig. Blackbirds follows Miriam Black, a young runaway who has the unfortunate ability to, whenever she touches a person, see how and when that person will die. Bummer. A writer’s room has been set up for the show, so hopefully we’ll hear more about that soon.

And hopefully that won’t interfere with his work on the beloved Da Vinci’s Demons. Here’s the press release:

STARZ ORDERS THIRD SEASON OF ORIGINAL SERIES “DA VINCI’S DEMONS”

John Shiban to Serve as Season Three Showrunner

David S. Goyer Continues as Executive Producer

Beverly Hills, Calif. – May 6, 2014 – Starz Chief Executive Officer Chris Albrecht today announced a third season for the STARZ Original series “Da Vinci’s Demons” has been greenlit. The historical fantasy, created and executive produced by David S. Goyer and produced by Adjacent Productions, follows the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci, during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence.

John Shiban joins “Da Vinci’s Demons” season three as executive producer and showrunner. Shiban began his career as a staff writer on FOX’s “The X-Files.” During his stint on the celebrated FOX series, Shiban wrote or co-wrote over twenty episodes and served as executive producer by the end of the series’ nine-year run. His writing on “The X-Files” garnered him an Emmy® nomination. As a producer, Shiban has also been honored with a Golden Globe® Award and an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Dramatic Series for “The X-Files.” Shiban joined AMC’s “Breaking Bad” as a consulting producer in its second season, penning several episodes of the acclaimed series. He received a WGA Award nomination for Episodic Drama for the episode “Phoenix” and wrote and directed Season Three’s penultimate episode “Sunset.” On AMC’s “Hell on Wheels,” Shiban served as executive producer and showrunner, writing and directing numerous episodes.

Series creator David S. Goyer will continue to serve as executive producer.

“We’re excited to continue Leonardo da Vinci’s adventures with a third season of ’Da Vinci’s Demons’ with John Shiban joining the ranks as executive producer and showrunner,” said Carmi Zlotnik, managing director of Starz. “David S. Goyer’s vision of da Vinci’s journey continues to entertain fans, taking them deeper into the world of ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ where there is still much more story to tell.”

“I’m very proud of this modern take on the endlessly fascinating Leonardo da Vinci — everyone from the writers, directors, cast and all the crew have been invaluable and will continue to be for what we have ahead,” says Goyer. “I’ve been a fan of John’s work for some time and I’m excited to add his voice to the mix.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the amazing creative team behind ‘Da Vinci’s Demons,’” said Shiban. “Starz and Adjacent have given us an amazing playground to play in – I can’t wait to dig further into the untold history of Leonardo da Vinci.”

Brilliant and passionate, the 25-year- old Leonardo da Vinci is an artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist. As a free thinker, with intellect and talents that are almost superhuman, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time.

“Da Vinci’s Demons” stars Tom Riley (“Monroe,” “Doctor Who”), as the title character; Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy) who plays Lucrezia Donati; Elliot Cowan (“Luther”) who plays the de factor ruler of Florence, Lorenzo Medici; Lara Pulver (Edge of Tomorrow, “Fleming,” “Sherlock”), who plays his wife Clarice Orsini; and Blake Ritson (Serena, “Upstairs Downstairs”) who plays the ruthless and unwavering Count Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.

Jane Tranter serves as Executive Producer. The series is produced by Adjacent Productions, a label launched and run by Tranter to sit alongside BBC Worldwide Productions in order to identify new and original programming created and produced under the company’s umbrella.

Outside of the United States and English-speaking Canada, “Da Vinci’s Demons” is distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide, in partnership with FOX International Channels (FIC) who broadcasts the series to audiences in 125 countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa following Starz’s exclusive premiere in the U.S.

About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of March 31, 2014, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 56.3 million subscribers, including 21.9 million at STARZ, and 34.4 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.

About Adjacent Productions
Adjacent Productions is a label that sits within BBC Worldwide Productions, one of the core businesses under BBC Worldwide North America, the U.S. division of BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The Adjacent Productions label serves to identify new programming created by the Los Angeles-based production company, while BBC Worldwide Productions identifies BBC reformats that the team develops and produces for the U.S. market. The first scripted series under the Adjacent Productions label is Da Vinci’s Demons (Starz), currently in production on its second season. Other series from the production companies include Getting On (HBO) and the upcoming Us & Them (FOX), Intruders (BBC America), and Criminal Justice (HBO).

Da Vinci’s Demons, starring Tom Riley, Laura Haddock, Blake Ritson, Elliot Cowan, Lara Pulver, Greg Chillin, Eros Vlahos, Hera Hilman, Carolina Guerra, and Kieran Bew airs Saturdays at 9/8c on Starz.