FOX Renews Fringe For 3rd Season

Fringe, the FOX sci-fi show from Star Trek’s JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, has been renewed for a third season. Details below, plus the latest comments from JJ Abrams on the season two finale.

  

 

Fringe gets a third season

According to Entertainment Weekly, Fox has picked up Fringe for a third season. EW details that even though the show has been on the bubble, it has still performing well enough:

Though the show isn’t exactly blowing the roof off of Nielsen — it’s been averaging just 7.6 million viewers and is ranked No. 50 in the all-important adults 18-49 demographic this season — it managed to survive in a tough new time period on Thursdays.

JJ talks Fringe (alternate) universe

Between Star Trek and Lost and Fringe, the worlds of JJ Abrams are chock-full of time-travel and alternate universes. At an event last weekend, Abrams talked about how the two universes in Fringe are at the heart of the season two finale (via SciFiWire):

I think the whole alternate-universe idea is at the core of what’s going to be happening. Without giving anything away, I think that the ending of this second season is, I think, richer and better and deeper than what we did last year. I mean, last year was definitely shocking, but I think the end of this year is different, but I think equally impactful."

Fringe is Back April 1

Fringe returns after a hiatus on April 1st with the mythology filled episode "Peter". Here is a preview:

More Sci-Fi TV News coming
We have more Fringe and genre TV news coming tomorrow in our regular weekend wrap-up, so stay tuned.

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YEAHHH!!!

Wow. Way to go Fox. This is a great show and Can’t wait till it comes back.

Are they going to give Anna Torv an emotion chip this season

Thank God! I don’t know what I’d do without my weekly dose of Mad Science!

I was really excited when i heard the news.

Predictions for season 3 ?

Earth-1 vs Earth-2 war ????

Glad to hear it!

yay! I like this show almost as much as x-files–

AWESOME BLOSSOM!!!!

Can’t wait! :D

Wow-

You mean Fox is actually doing something right for a change?

Whew! I was getting worried there for a bit! Great show, but I prefer watching it on Blu Ray. Watch as many as I want, when I want and without any commercials.

#10, This is more about how poorly FOX is doing with its schedule than an endorsement of Fringe. Better to keep a marginal show that is already up and running than gamble on financing an unknown from scratch.

Personally, I record Fringe to watch only when I am having trouble sleeping at night. Knocks me right out.

#7, Yup it’s become a blatant rip-off with none of the talent, chemistry or originality of that great show.

Woo hoo! It’s always great to see a good, ambitious, daring, and different TV show find success in the sea of cookie-cutter police procedurals that we call Network TV. Congratulations, Mr. Orci!

I don’t care about Fringe unless Leonard is on.

YESSSS!!!!

Haha ms redskirt so is that why i dont like fringe more than the x files? least you can sleep at nite when u watch fringe haha–actually a few shows remind me of x files-sanctuary for one-

Yay!! Fringe is awesome! I love the show, but Walter is the highlight! He’s amazing.

Brilliant news.

#3 You haven’t been watching closely. She closed off and suppresse4d her emotions based on the trauma of the last year or so. Pay attention to the last episode which specifically revealed she no longer knew how to be afraid. She’s lost 2 very dear people to her; lover and best friend. Lots of people grieve by shutting down.

#12 An easy lazy conclusion.

#14 Then you don’t care about Fringe at all. Nimoy has nothing but cameos. As good as he is, the series won’t suffer without him.

YEAH!!!! Finally some good news….

WOOT!! =D

…glad Fox didn’t blow it…

#3 “Are they going to give Anna Torv an emotion chip this season”

I do like the Star Trek reference and accept your comment as just a joke, but if you are honestly complaining about her emotions I just have to laugh at that too.

People on this site must think her lack of emotion is a good observation because they keep repeating it. I find that funny because this is a Star Trek oriented website. Barring one-off episodes, almost every character in every Star Trek series has been portrayed as only having a restricted subset of the available range of emotions. Nobody seems to complain that Bones is *always* “irascible”.

21. Don’t be messin’ wi’ my Bones! McCoy rulez!

Glad to hear it.

Anyone remember how many seasons they said the show was planned for? I’d hate for the mythos the be spun even more only to never see how it all ends.

Guess Lost totally spoiled me forever.

Excellent news, I’m all for more Walter and his ways :)

I don’t watch it anymore, but this is always nice to hear. Too bad Fox didn’t give TSCC the same courtesy.
Somethin can be said about finding a well-crafted genre show, put it in a timeslot, AND LEAVE IT THERE!!!
Congrats Fringe fans…

Great news! Big Anna Torv fan too: I like like her character a lot! Fringe and Supernatural nicely fill the gap The X-Files left in my viewing schedule!!

#18., “#12 An easy lazy conclusion.”

Ah yes, I keep forgetting how much extra work JJ Abram’s productions require from the audience in order to get the maximum enjoyment out of them. How lazy of me to simply call a spade a spade. I’m sure the reason the ratings have been on a steady decline since it debuted has more to do with how lazy the viewers are, than the quality of the production. Too bad Fringe wasn’t a reboot of an existing franchise with a large installed, product-starved fanbase to drive the ratings to success.

#16., I really wanted to like Sanctuary, but Amanda Tapping who I love dearly, killed it for me by attempting that horrible British accent which has not improved one iota. But that’s far from the only X-Files knock-off … Warehouse Thirteen, combines it with Friday the 13th for a double-helping of lame. I really lament this current direction of Sci-Fi which replaces really good stories with plodding psychological exploration, mixed with the supernatural. BattleStar Galactica kicked this current trend off, but so far, none of them, including Heroes, Caprica & Stargate Universe have managed to capture the magic of that series. All of them seem compelled to explore the depths of boredom.

I will never understand why idiots who don’t like the show, don’t care about it, call it a balant rip off will come on boards ABOUT FRINGE and the fact that it got renewed. If you hate Fringe, GET THE HELL OFF A FRINGE BOARD!

27… Red Skirt… You’re entitled to your opinion. I like Fringe and don’t find it boring at all. I see “Fringe” as an opposite of “X Files”, even though both are in the same genre. “Fringe’s” best episodes are its ‘mythology’ episodes dealing with Walter’s past and Olivia’s background (which are connected). The best “X Files” episodes were the standalone stories, not the mythology/conspiracy stories that eventually became totally impenetrable and which Chris Carter was clearly making up as he went along. “X Files” didn’t have an actor half as good as John Noble, who I think is the most underrated actor on TV. The best thing about “X Files” was the Mulder/Scully dynamic. The best thing about “Fringe” is the Walter/Olivia/Peter/Astrid camaraderie.

#28, Hear hear! This is why I spend my time on a Star Trek site. ;-)

But it is interested how everything is interconnected, don’t you think?

#23, if you think any of these story arcs are planned, you have really bought into their bill of goods. These guys make it up as they go. They may have a vague idea where they want to go in the beginning, but seriously, as soon as they have a new good idea along the way, they scrap everything they planned and head down the rabbit hole, shoe-horning it into whatever loose outline the originally scribbled-down on a cocktail napkin at the Polo Lounge.

Abrams has one proven track-record. He has started a bunch of shows that were successful in the beginning and had a string of one-off moderate hits. But he has not proven himself that he can stay the course. Starting with Felicity, on to Alias, then Lost and now Fringe. All started with high ratings and steadily dropped over the course of their life, usually ending with dismal ratings and fan disappointment. And it was not all hit series, he has had his share of failed pilots and series which failed to take off. He has only been involved with three major films, none of which has had any follow-ups, and two of which were based on existing franchises. Mission Impossible III did the worst of the three in that franchise. Star Trek did as well as the best of the franchise and did not do as well as MI III. For the first time Abrams is faced with the daunting task of following up with a sequel film to see whether his record with films will follow his TV pattern or break it. And Cloverfield will determine whether he’s a one shot kind of guy, or capable of creating a franchise (where the real money is), not just re-booting somebody else’s old ideas.

Given this, I would fully expect Fringe to end as sloppily as the rest of his series prior. I’m fully prepared for Lost to let me down, so the bar is set pretty low. He’s totally alienated me with the storyline on Lost, throwing in any “cool” idea they come up with along the way. If not for the incredible cast which I am thoroughly invested in, I would no longer watch Lost. The story has become totally ridiculous, and Fringe went off the rails a long time ago for me. And frankly, I think Abrams has made a mistake putting all of his eggs into the same basket by making parallel universes the basis for everything he’s been involved with in the last two years. Not much diversity for fans of his. What’s next? Perhaps the Cloverfield monster came from a parallel universe and scientists will have to go there to seal it off. Or, perhaps, Ethan Hunt will wake up in an alternate universe where Jim Phelps is still alive and not a bad guy. The possibilities are endless. ;-)

30. Red Skirt – March 7, 2010

#23, if you think any of these story arcs are planned, you have really bought into their bill of goods. These guys make it up as they go. They may have a vague idea where they want to go in the beginning, but seriously, as soon as they have a new good idea along the way, they scrap everything they planned and head down the rabbit hole, shoe-horning it into whatever loose outline the originally scribbled-down on a cocktail napkin at the Polo Lounge.

——-

Interesting comment. I do remember when JJ, Bryan, Alex and I did indeed have a breakthrough when we were trying to crack the story and paradigm for the pilot. It was during Comic-Con, and we did sit at the Polo lounge for hours brainstorming (however, we had pen and paper and computers, not cocktail napkins). Did you read that somewhere?

Red skirt, how many episodes have you seen of Fringe? Probably 2 episodes. It seems those people who criticize the show the most probably haven’t watched all 35 episodes.

#31, LOL, congratulations, you are living the Hollywood stereotype! When I wrote “these guys” I did not mean you in particular, but virtually every successful screenplay writer I’ve ever known. LOL

#32 – You’re right. I watched about half the first season, the season finale, and about 6 episodes from the second season hoping for an improvement with the new direction. I gave it a fair shake. I actually fault the directing and cast chemistry more than anything else for my failure to become immersed in it. I would have dropped out during the first season of Lost if not for the quick, tense pacing and solid cast, especially after they pulled a James Cameron Abyss moment when Jack pounded on Charlie’s chest to resuscitate him for what seemed to be an entire act.

Also, being derivative is not a bad thing. In fact, I have no problem if someone is serving me a substitute for something I can no longer get. But it needs to have its own flavorful formula, which Fringe fails to achieve for me and many of those who tuned in for the beginning of the first season, otherwise it would not be riding the downside of the ratings bubble. But I hope the extra time gives them the opportunity to finally find their magic, because I would like to see this concept work (in much the same way I want to see Eureka and Flash Forward work too, but so far …). But I don’t worry about it. If they fail, some one else will be along with a similar concept the next season, until someone hits the chemistry X-Files and Lost had.

# Red Skirt

I was referring to your lazy conclusion that Fringe is an X-Files rip-off. Surely the premise of X-Files is a believer and skeptic investigating the supernatural? I missed the part of the X Files that was about advances in science to win a war between two parallel universes.

And who’s the skeptic Peter or Olivia? Where does Walter fit in with the X Files? So yes, it was a lazy conclusion. All you have is a male and female FBI agent. There are no supernatural elements to Fringe, it’s all based on scientific possibility within the fiction of the show.

Supernatural is more like the X-Files than Fringe. Smallville is more like X-Files than Fringe.

Oh so you haven’t watched all the episodes? You have no business forming an opinion about a show that you didn’t bother watching.

#31 Bob I’ve only recently discovered Fringe and done a mass watch in a couple of weeks. It’s a solid show. It works best for me when the episodes advance the mythology (and judging by the scores on TV.com, most fans feel the same). The standalones are hit and miss and are more enjoyable when we learn something significant about a character and their relationships with each other are challenged or furthered. Can I ask if you are restricted by the number of serialised episodes you do? Or is it free reigns?

NONEOFYOURBUSINESS,

you need to tone it down, it is not up to you who can or cannot post opinions here

It has taken me a while for this show to congeal into something I understand, and now I look forward to seeing it, and glad it got the green light for S3!

Dammit was hoping it be cancelled

#39

Why would you hope that? What could you possibly gain through it’s cancelation?

#34, actually my “lazy” conclusion was not formed on my own but rather is informed directly from Roberto Orci, who commented in an interview that Fringe “took its inspiration from The X-Files”, but will wholly “differentiate through the characters,” and be a whole-new take on the genre.

I’m saying I don’t think they’ve tread so far off the beaten path. Your mileage may vary.

By the way, Fringe had nothing to do with a parallel universe for the first half of the first season either. This is one of the reasons I came back to watch the finale as I was curious to see if this would light a fire under it for me. It did not. And I have watched most of the second season, continually disappointed that the episodes mostly have little to do with this new twist.

I’m not sure there were any actual supernatural elements to X-Files either, just things that Scully could not explain within the limits of her science. But just because Fringe can explain things within its own rules, doesn’t mean they don’t appear supernatural to the audience, or wouldn’t be supernatural in any other unexplained setting.

#35, that may be your opinion. However, even JJ Abrams would disagree with you. In an interview countering the criticism of Lost, he said, “Fringe is a show that you don’t have to watch episodes one, two and three to tune into episode four.”

36. Dalek

no restrictions other than the self imposed. Ideally, you want to be able to move the mythology forward a little bit everytime, while still having a beginning, a middle, and end. Of course, that is always easier said than done.

Well let bob orci know-i think fringe has gotten better–so far this new season has been more interesting to me-the characters are solid acting n depth wise we learn more about them with every episode-Walters past, his connections with the good the bad n ugly fringe past actually asks a lot of questions regarding ethics of science etc–i agree walter seems crazybn brilliant n the main focus point of the series-i luv him n the many revelations–

also redskirt i also love amanda tappin n i think she is great in sanctuary so far the only syfy show other than bg that seems worthy of watching–her character dealing with her daughters death was incredible-i dont like the evil corporation or kabul too many of these shows have that even tho only 1 has nimoy as the head of the company haha

I’m amazed by the people who come to a thread about a topic they don’t like, yet they complain like there’s no tomorrow. I think people like Red Skirt, Captain Neill and others can’t stand other people enjoying something they don’t and do their best to ruin the fun.

Captain Neill: What if someone said to you in the middle of the third season of TNG they hope it would get cancelled? You wouldn’t like it one bit.

44

No I wouldn’t but TNG was a much better show

YES. If they’d canceled it I’d be crushed.

I’m loving Fringe precisely because of what it is: an episodic series, which moves forward, slowly, the backstory and mythology. I’m a comic book writer, and I’ve actually started taking some of that to heart in my own work. You want things to move forward for the characters, you want change and you want development. But you also want to be accessible to casual viewers.

Fringe does this well. There’s an interesting story that resolves itself in every episode, and sprinkled throughout, there are little pushes forward in the characterization.

This is unlike most episodic television. Star Trek, Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Voyager, early Stargate, The A-Team, MacGuyver, etc. etc. — in those show, the tension was simple: how will this plot be resolved so that by the end of the episode, everything is back to normal and every one is in the same emotional place they were in when the episode began. Data gets an emotion chip? Well, he’s going to hide it. Until the movies, when the REAL characterization is allowed to begin. Picard was assimilated? We’ll write an episode wherein he deals with it so we can move on to the regular stories. (Yeah, I know, broad strokes — but you get the idea.)

I like series like Fringe, where anything can happen in an episode and it has lasting consequences. When Olivia’s partner . . . I’ll avoid the spoiler, but it bothered me because something happened that was not going to be undone.

But the other thing, whether episodic or serialized or a mix of both like Fringe, is whether or not you connect with the characters. I think most people who don’t like the show just didn’t connect with the characters. You want to spend time with characters, you know? I like the characters (testament to the writers and the actors) and as a result, I want to see what happens to them.

Fringe is one of the more in depth shows in TV right now. Even the mysterious “observers” have more character depth in one episode than many starring roles get on many other TV shows. Every new episode brings something new and right to the table.

It is like X-Files, except 10 times better and I can actually watch every single episode.

#47, I find this thread particularly fascinating for the simple reason that I have stated, but evidently not clearly enough for some: I was a fan of X-Files and this is the closet thing to it since it went off the air, heck the creators have even acknowledged as much.

“I think most people who don’t like the show just didn’t connect with the characters. You want to spend time with characters, you know?”

And that is exactly what I’ve written here. Fringe does not resonate with me, and I want it to so badly. I also think the direction and ultimately editing by the producer’s takes its toll as well. The pacing is just not there for me. And yet I want it to improve so I will want to watch it – it has so many elements that attract me, yet do not compel me to watch it.

Lost has this in spades, despite its extremely weak story. It’s like the dramatic version of Family Guy some weeks and has wandered all over the map (alienating others in the process). But the cast is solid and dynamic and the show is structured, directed, and edited in the most compelling way. Sometimes I find myself wondering why I’m watching such a silly show, but every act break sucks me back in for more.

Fringe simply hasn’t found that for me, despite being a more cohesive story than Lost. But I’m happy it has a strong enough fan base that it will get another opportunity to find a wider audience. Considering how poorly Fringe has done, the producers will hopefully see this as a challenge to change, rather than a mandate to stay the course.

And that, to all of those who are continually perplexed why anyone who doesn’t like something would show up to comment on it, is why I do. I can’t speak for others, but I would like to see Fringe succeed, and all I can offer is my criticism of what doesn’t work for me.

I’ve been watching Fringe since the first episode and haven’t missed a single airing. This is easily one of my favorites, if not my favorite show on television right now.

I’m very excited about a third season! Great news!