QUESTION: Please tell me that “Rizzoli & Isles” and “Royal Pains” will soon be returning.

ANSWER: The police drama starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander will be back on Feb. 17. “Royal Pains” will be back, although I have not yet seen a return date. Last year, USA Network ordered two more eight-episode seasons of the medical series. And that note about eight episodes leads yet again into another version of an oft-asked question.

QUESTION: Why do “Major Crimes,” “Blue Bloods” and “Hawaii 5-0” have such a short span before they go to repeats? “Major Crimes” debuted in mid-November, and the finale was Jan. 13 and it won’t be back on until summer.

ANSWER: There are several different issues at work here. With shows including “Blue Bloods” and “Hawaii Five-0,” a full TV season consists of about 22 episodes. But a television season runs more than 40 weeks, so there will be times when shows will either be in rerun or pre-empted for other programming.

At the same time, “Major Crimes” had 19 episodes in the just-concluded season, but TNT ran a block of episodes, then took an extended break before running more. That has happened on cable for some time but also occurs on broadcast TV; “The Blacklist” has been on a break since early November and is due back in February. The assumption is that fans of the show will come back after these breaks, although they don’t always.

Then there are the shows which simply don’t make many episodes, whether for cable or broadcast. That may be to keep the storytelling tight, or because actors are available only for a limited time, or the people televising the show don’t think it’s economically feasible to run it for long. Then they try to convince you that the short run is a good thing by calling the program an “event.”

Send questions or comments about movies, TV and other popular culture to Rich Heldenfels at rheldenfelsthebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, Ohio 44309.