BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Last night at HBO's party another TV critic friend and I chatted with the executive producers of my favorite HBO series, "Big Love" (9 p.m. Monday), the story of a polygamist family in Utah. I've been worried about the show because it moved to Monday night and seems not to have much buzz or be a high HBO priority, but series creators Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer assured me they're confident that it will be renewed for a third season.

Question: So how has the move to Mondays turned out? Are the ratings OK?

Will Scheffer: We were concerned about it because we didn't have a lead-in on Monday and felt really exposed, but we're doing really well. We air at 9 and again at 11 p.m. and with the two showings we're doing almost as well as last year. HBO's really happy and they feel like they've opened up the night.

Lacey Terrell, HBO Sister wives Nicki (Chloe Sevigny), Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) confront their husband, Bill (Bill Paxton), on "Big Love."

Mark Olsen: They have a toehold on the night that they need not retreat from.

Question: So are you thinking about next season?

Will Scheffer: We want to take a time jump of at least six months, we don't want it to pick up just two weeks later.

Mark Olsen: It's so we don't have an 8-year-old character being played by a 16 year old.

Question: Without giving anything away, can you discuss the end of this season?

Mark Olsen: There are resolutions to several story questions, thematic questions that have been explored or that we've been building to. There is nice closure on several story pieces and a few nice thrusts out [into next season] on others.

Will Scheffer: Last year was a cliffhanger that required us to tie up stuff when we started the new season. This year's season finale pushes us into story in a big way next season. It's more proactive than last season.

Mark Olsen: Some of that came out of an artistic desire and part of it came out of a very clear instruction from HBO, NO CLIFFHANGERS THIS SEASON.

Question: How come?

Will Scheffer: I think they didn't want to spend as much time dealing with stuff that winds up being in the past.

Mark Olsen: I think they want us to start the third season fresh and clean and push forward rather than the first couple of episodes resolving [the prior season].

Will Scheffer: That said, we do have two stories I can think of that are, "What's gonna happen next?" There is some cliffhanging, just not as much the major story with our family. It's more stories with side characters.

Question: So the polygamists probably aren't wild about this show, huh?

Will Scheffer: Actually, they feel like we are giving a voice to them. This is actually a characterization of their lifestyle they can get behind.

Question: Even with the depiction of evil Juniper Creek leader Roman (Harry Dean Stanton)?

Mark Olsen: They're not 100 percent happy, but they're OK with Roman. They are not happy on some of the sexualization, which I think we've pulled back from this season.

Question: I've seen the first five episodes and episode six airs Monday. Where is the show heading?

Mark Olsen: By episode six, it cranks up and does not stop until the end of the season. We had to tie up loose ends [in the early episodes] and now HBO is over the moon with what we've done this season. We wanted to leave nothing on the floor in terms of story. It's a run for the roses from episode six on.

Question: In terms of what happens, what can you say without giving away anything?

Lacey Terrell, HBO Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) gets a spine.

Will Scheffer: Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) is starting to come into her own. That's going to start to expand and get more powerful.

Mark Olsen: We felt like Margene had to grow up from being a baby doll as anyone does. In Margene, we felt if we took it too far too fast, if we lost the "I-love-everyone" Margeneness, it would be shrill. But she wants more of a place at the table by the end of the year.

Will Scheffer: You start to see the wives in more of a power struggle in a different way, not so much of an unconscious way. This year there are more overt power dynamics starting to take place.

Mark Olsen: One thing that comes out of episode six is we start to lift the curtain. You might have thought the polygamists were nothing but in the suburbs and at Juniper Creek, but there are other players in this whole enterprise.

Question: And now Bill is pursuing a waitress to maybe bring into the family as a fourth wife. And even though they're polygamists, I find myself saying, "Bill, how dare you cheat on your wives," insane as that sounds.

Will Scheffer: This turns the idea of extra-marital relations on its head.

Mark Olsen: We've been worried about this story. We felt it had to be handled with such kid gloves.

Will Scheffer: When Bill took his ring off [before going to the diner], we knew women especially would be like, "How dare you, you already have three wives!" I think the way we chose to handle this story is particularly well done. It's exciting for the audience to be like, "Don't do it, you jerk!" and to come into episode six and see how it gets resolved and how he acquits himself and it's handled is surprising. We wanted to explore how a polygamist went about getting another wife so we were committed to that but it's interesting how the story works out through the rest of the season.