'Person of Interest' season 5 premiere date: CBS orders 13 episodes

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CBS already ordered the next season of Jonathan Nolan's sci-fi crime drama "Person of Interest" but it was not renewed for a full 22-episode season. Instead, the network ordered 13 episodes, which is scheduled to premiere in the second half of the fall season. 

Before the announcement, CBS Entertainment's Nina Tassler shared with the reporters the network's plans to shorten the length of the highly acclaimed serialized show, saying: 

"Just process-wise, before we make any pickups of returning shows, we sit down and have these really great creative meetings with producers and we talk about not only what the next season is going to look like, but are there any character changes, what are the story arcs, etc. And Jonah Nolan and Greg Plageman came in and pitched really terrific ideas for the new season." 

Tassler also said that executive producers Nolan and Greg Plageman talked to the network and shared their marvelous ideas for the next season. The network executive still cannot comment if the reduced season 5 will be the show's final season or not, since they believe that "Person of Interest" has always been a really creative and intelligent show. 

This is not the first time that CBS ordered a half-season for their TV shows. Last year, the network renewed "The Mentalist" for its seventh season with a 13-episode run. After airing its season premiere in November 2014, the network announced that the police procedural drama starring Simon Baker would be cancelled after the season 7 finale. 

"Person of Interest" first aired on Sept. 22, 2011, and it revolves around the story of John Reese (Jim Caviezel), a former CIA agent who was believed to be dead. He was hired by a rich man named Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) to help prevent violent crimes using the highly advanced spy system called "The Machine." 

The series is expected to air in the second half of the upcoming fall season.