As season nine of Smallville winds down, viewers will get a lot of Chloe.

Along those lines, we have great news for fans of The CW series: executive producer Brian Peterson says he's “very optimistic” that the actress - who doesn't yet have a contract for next season - will, indeed, return this fall.

Michael Ausiello asked Peterson if Mack's deal is done and he replied: “We’ve learned the hard way not to say [it's official] until everything is signed and dotted. So the best we can say is we’re really optimistic. And so is Allison.”

We consider that a confirmation. Feel free to whoop and holler, Smallville fans.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.