The wait was worth it for USA Network's Shooter.

The twice-delayed TV adaptation of the feature film of the same name has been renewed for a second season at the NBCUnviersal-owned cable network.

The drama, starring Ryan Phillippe, has helped USA Network improve its fortunes on Tuesdays. With an average of 2.6 million total viewers and 974,000 among adults 18-49 (with seven days of DVR), Shooter ranks as USA's No. 1 new series year-to-date among total viewers and adults 18-34. The show, paired with lead-in WWE Smackdown, has retained 78 percent of its audience, making USA the top ad-supported cable network on Tuesdays from 8-11 p.m.

Picked up to series in February, Shooter was originally set to launch July 19. It was delayed to bow July 26 and again until Nov. 15 following the July 7 deadly attack in downtown Dallas, and more attacks in Nice, France, to Baton Rouge, La. The delays ultimately proved beneficial as the drama felt timely.

"John Hlavin and the team behind Shooter have delivered a compelling action thriller that consistently engages a strong and loyal audience,” NBCU Cable Entertainment president Chris McCumber said Monday in announcing the renewal. “We look forward to partnering once again with Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions as we follow Bob Lee into his next chapter."

Based on Stephen Hunter's best-selling novel Point of Impact and the 2007 Paramount feature that starred Mark Wahlberg, Phillippe takes on the role of Bob Lee Swagger, an off-the-grid former Marine sniper who is coaxed into action to thwart the killing of the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he must call upon all the skills he acquired as a decorated sharpshooter to avoid capture while hunting down and exposing the traitors who set him up.

Meanwhile, the verdict is still out on fellow USA Network freshman dramas Eyewitness and Falling Water, the latter of which has a lucrative SVOD window that may help clear the way for a renewal.

Shooter becomes part of 2017 lineup at USA that also includes Colony, Mr. Robot, Queen of the South and Suits as well as comedy Playing House.

Shooter is also one of multiple projects on Paramount TV's slate, which includes Amazon's Jack Ryan, Netflix's Thirteen Reasons Why, Epix's Berlin Station and more.