Exclusive: See Denis Leary's return forAnimal Kingdomfinale after big character death

Deran may have justlost his mother, but his absentee father is suddenly back in the picture.

EW can exclusively reveal thatDenis Learyis returning as Billy in theAnimal Kingdomseason 4 finale.

Watch a clip above of an allegedly sober Billy looking to make amends with Pope (Shawn Hatosy).

After theshocking exit of Ellen Barkins matriarch, executive producer John Wells talked EW through the decision.

Its the animal kingdom, not everybodys going to survive,he said.

We were feeling that we were repeating a little bit the Smurf stories.

And that led to where we ended up.

TheAnimal Kingdomseason finale airs Tuesday at 9 p.m.

In July, the internet announced it renewed the series for a fifth season.