Once Upon a Time Season 3 Gets 24 Episodes

  Good news, Once Upon a Time fans! In the wake of the news that our favorite fairy tale adventure has officially been renewed for a third season comes the update from the ABC upfronts that Season 3 will feature 24 episodes — two more than Season 2. Maybe this means we’ll have time to check in with some of our favorite long-lost characters.
We’re doubly excited at this announcement because the longer season will be broken up into two uninterrupted 12-episode runs. This is key for such a serialized drama. OUAT saw its rating slip in Season 2, and we hypothesized that it had something to do with the inconsistent scheduling on ABC’s part. OUAT is still doing relatively well — and hopefully its spin-off, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, will throw some more viewers OUAT’s way— but we still worry about our show. We want it to be around for seasons to come!

And, though we were semi-teasing about how the extra episodes might give us more time to check in with minor characters left by the wayside, we do think OUAT could benefit from a few more episodes to flesh out the story. Now that there are three important worlds — Storybrooke, the Enchanted Forest, and Neverland — we’re worried that we are going to get narrative whiplash. Hopefully, the OUAT Powers That Be will use the extra episodes to slow down the show’s pace rather than to engage in further plot meandering.

Are you excited to see two more episodes in OUAT’s Season 3 run? Let us know in the comments below!