latest season

the season was short because of the writers strike,yes sarah is coming back the new season

The writers strike made for a big break in the middle of the season, and there ended up only being about 16-17 episodes made for the whole season. The actors are only contracted for a certian amount of time each year to film the episodes, so they could only make up some of the episodes after it ended before their contracts ran out. As for Sara leaving, the actress wanted to pursue other projects but left on good terms with the producers. From what I've read, she will be back for at least two episodes next season.