Fringe Exec Producer Not Worried About Move To Friday

Fringe executive producers Jeff Pinkner spoke with Fancast about the move to Friday nights (in January), and he seems very optimistic:

“What is ironic is that for the last year, all the message boards have been saying ‘Please move the show off of Thursday nights,’ so it is sort of one of those ‘Be careful what you wish for things,’” executive producer Jeff Pinkner says of the move, which starts in January.

“From the inside, you know when you are losing support from your network and studio partners”, Pinkner says. “For us it has been just the opposite.”
“Our show has developed a devoted, rabid fan base. Our critical praise has never been higher. And our fan support has never been more passionate. If we can translate that to Friday nights, which has much lower expectations, we will be around for a good long time.”

Matt Roush of TV Guide also had this to say:

"It's worth noting that [Fringe] is a fairly well-established show whose creative vitals are still strong. Fox executives note that its DVR playback numbers are robust, which counts for something. And many in the media like it — Fringe was just spotlighted on the cover of TV Guide's Sci-Fi Preview — and we aren't likely to let it stay unnoticed in its new period. Plus, expectations will be so low that if Fringe holds on to a fair percentage of its loyal Thursday audience, it will be seen as a win."

So, while it seems that Fringe's move to Friday may not be the end of the world, it is important to keep showing your enthusiastic support. Recording Fringe on your Tivo/DVR, watching it online (at Fringe Episodes, Fox.com, or Hulu), and buying episodes on Amazon or iTunes helps a little, but the most important thing you can do is to WATCH FRINGE LIVE ON FRIDAY NIGHTS! Nothing else even comes close to showing your support by keeping those Neilson ratings up, and that can only happen if you watch it live on FOX.