Network Talks Begin for Fringe’s Return

 

The fate of TV show Fringe hangs in the balance this week as Fox and Warner Brothers Television go into negotiations to reduce the show’s licence fee. Apparently this is a necessary move if there’s any hope of a fifth season.

JJ Abrams, co-creator of the show, is optimistic:

We remain hopeful that Fringe will be able to continue.

And Joshua Jackson, one of the stars of the show, had this to say:

If we’re not making them money on Friday then that show is going to get cancelled. Whether it’s Fringe or American Idol, when it stops making money, you know, it’s show business. Whether that happens this year, whether we get a half-season next year, whether we get a whole season next year, whether we run for 10 more years, at the end of the day, still, what will be important is not how long it runs but if the whole story finishes. So I’m more concerned about the finish than anything else.

A sentiment echoed by the thousands of fans of the show, myself included.

Luckily, the show’s producers seem to be just as concerned about that as Jackson. Executive producer, Jeff Pinkner, had this to say:

Worst case scenario, if this were the last aired season of Fringe — and as we’ve said before, there are other outlets where we could continue our stories, be they graphic novels or webisodes — we know what the end of this season is going to be, and it can function as a series finale.

Now I’m no expert in these matters, but surely if the show is losing money because it’s part of a Friday schedule, couldn’t it just be moved to another day? There is a loyal fanbase that would follow regardless, and all those fans that dropped the show because it was moved initially would surely return.

Seriously, someone needs to give me a job at Fox.