Renewed for Season 4, 'The Last Ship' Takes Drama To A New Level

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE LAST SHIP THROUGH AUGUST 14, 2016.

The Last Ship, the military drama set aboard the fictional Nathan James, was renewed for Season 4, which will air next summer. The Last Ship has been averaging 7.6 million views each week, with DVR totals along with Video-on-Demand and live-viewing, so it would have been surprising for the show to get anything other than an early renewal.

I'll have to admit, as I mentioned on July 14th, I wasn't altogether thrilled with the first few episodes of the season, but I continued to watch. I'm happy to say I was wrong about this season as a whole. I had focused so much on what I missed that I hadn't given other plot devices a chance. Sometimes, when the water looks murky, you have to keep moving anyway. The writers of The Last Ship have certainly steered this show into open waters where literally anything can happen, especially with this latest episode, Paradise, which aired August 14, 2016. The three things we learned will change the entire path of the show.

For the past few episodes, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alex Rivera had been served up as a potential malcontent who wasn't interesting in toeing the party line. That concept was laid to rest tonight when Allison Shaw, the President's Chief of Staff, showed her true colors. Going up against the President of the United States is no small feat, and I applaud Elizabeth Rohm for the way she portrayed a woman who is both crazed for power and teetering on the edge of insanity. She will be a formidable enemy for Tom Chandler and the crew of the Nathan James.

After The Warning From Rivera, Kara Green Was On The Run

At the end of the episode, we see Kara Green almost running down the sidewalk. Learning that there's no one in the White House she can trust, she doesn't know where to turn. When Danny discovers the danger his wife is in, he's going to want to move the gates of hell to help her. Perhaps this is a set-up to bringing Kara back on board the Nathan James. It's certainly where she and Danny's child would be the safest. And will she need to be rescued from St. Louis?

Once Tom realized the Nathan James and the other two ships had been set up, he immediately closed ranks, putting the ship at EMCOM and shutting the White House out. It's one of the only ways he knows to keep his crew safe. Once he learns he has another enemy, an even bigger dragon to face, we can only imagine how he's going to pull out the stops to take back America one city at a time. This entire episode set the stage for the Nathan James once again becoming The Last Ship to protect the world.

The Last Ship has earned its Season 4 renewal, and I will continue to watch this drama with less criticism and more trust that the writers have a handle on what it takes to keep creating great content.