'Alphas,' Syfy's show about a crime-fighting team with special powers, has gotten a second season from Syfy, TVLine reports. The show, which wraps up its debut season Sept. 26, will return in 2012 with a super-sized number of hours -- 13 episodes, as opposed to this season's 11.

'Alphas,' which stars David Strathairn as the leader of a group of men and women with special abilities, has emerged as one of the most promising new shows of the year, as I wrote here. The drama has overcome a rocky beginning to become an enjoyable and intelligent take on superhero-flavored storytelling, and after a strong debut, it's been pulling in more than 3 million viewers each week,

Check out this article to find out which season 1 episodes you should watch to get caught up (if you're not already), and we've got intel below on what to expect when the show returns Sept. 12 with guest stars Brent Spiner ('Star Trek') and Rebecca Mader ('Lost').

In my 'Happy Endings' piece yesterday, I noted that I'm using this week to check in on shows I won't be able to write about during the September premiere crush. Today's program: Syfy's 'Alphas.'

The bad news is, 'Alphas' doesn't return until Sept. 12. The good news is, you have almost two weeks to catch up on this Syfy drama, which has turned out to be surprisingly good, especially in recent weeks.

I say "surprisingly" not just because much of Syfy's recent scripted fare has been lightweight, unambitious or slipshod (or all three), but because so much could have gone wrong with this particular show, which follows a team of investigators with superhuman abilities.

Not only has 'Alphas' successfully avoided many of the pitfalls that have bedeviled other superhero-flavored projects, it's done a good job of balancing character-driven moments with taut, well-paced storytelling. Not every episode has been an unqualified success, but the Aug. 15 and Aug. 22 outings, to name my favorites, were truly excellent, if not downright badass.