Elizabeth Hurley's 'Royals' renewed for a third season

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Elizabeth Hurley's scripted drama series The Royals has been renewed for a 10-episode, third season, E! Entertainment announced.

Created by Mark Schwahn, the hour-long program is about a fictional, modern-day, royal family, with Hurley playing Queen Helena. The show is co-produced by Lionsgate and Universal Cable Productions, and the cast includes William Moseley as the vengeful Prince Liam, Alexandra Park as an uncontrollable Princess Eleanor, Tom Austen as the prince's devious bodyguard Jasper Frost, Oliver Milburn as the troubled head of the Royal security, and Jake Maskall as the newly-crowned and universally despised King Cyrus, press notes said.

Lydia Rose Bewley, Andrew Bicknell, Victoria Ekanoye, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Simon Thomas, and Scott Maslen co-star along with Joan Collins, who plays the Grand Duchess of Oxford.

"We are incredibly proud of the success of The Royals," Jeff Olde, executive vice president of original programming and development at E!, said in a statement Tuesday. "The series has captured fans and brought them into a regal world of sexy, fun drama. We can't wait to see what Season 3 will bring and what surprises are still in store as we enter the second half of Season 2."

"We are delighted by today's pick-up announcement for Season 3 of The Royals," added Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate Television Group's chairman. "The Royals reflects the kind of original, noisy and provocative series that is a Lionsgate signature. We look forward to an all-new season of palace intrigue and badly behaved royals with our partners at E! and Universal Cable Productions."