January 22, 2007 - It's been a long wait for fans of The Shield, as the last original episode aired March 21st, 2006. This weekend saw the news Shield fans have been waiting for, as FX used the TCA (Television Critic Association) Winter Press Tour as an occasion to announce that The Shield Season Six will premiere on April 3rd.

However, it turns out there will be some new Shield content sooner than that, thanks to a surprising source: Bud.TV, a new entertainment website being launched by Anheuser-Busch. Television Week has revealed that one of the first pieces of content on Bud.TV will be a brand new 15 minute mini-episode of The Shield. As part of an advertising and promotional deal between FX and Anheuser-Busch, the new site will be the exclusive source of the mini-episode for four weeks. After that, the episode -- which will be preceded by an Anheuser-Busch commercial -- will be available on several other sites, including AOL, as well as certain cable on demand and satellite TV promotional channels. However, it will not air on FX itself.

The mini-episode will bridge the gap between season five and six of the series, picking up with the funeral for Lem (Kenny Johnson), who died in last season's finale. Flashbacks will be shown of Lem, in previously unseen moments, as his colleagues remember him.

Bud.TV will launch February 5th, the day after the Super Bowl. However, the article in Television Week didn't state a specific date for The Shield mini-episode to premiere. Presumably, it will be at least a month before the The Shield Season Six begins.