Fringe Will Return For Season 2 This Fall?

The Hollywood Reporter, covering the 2009 TCA Winter Press Tour, is reporting that FOX entertainment president Kevin Reilly "heavily hinted" that Fringe will return in the fall for a second season!

It's a keeper ... They've really found the storytelling model now ... what you're going to see in the second half in the year, if you follow the serialized story you're going to find [satisfying content each week and yet] the stories really do re-set themselves each week I would not expect it to take off after 'Idol' but I do think it will tick up another level.

Perhaps he meant the second-half of the First season? Either way, it sounds like he is a big Fringe fan, and the show will be sticking around for a while.

Reilly was also asked about the Remote-Free TV experiment used on Fringe:

Will the RemoteFreeTV experiment continue? If Fox has its way, yes, but the model that uses half as many commercials for shows like "Fringe" and "Dollhouse" remain a tough sell for advertisers. When asked if RemoteFree was a success, Reilly says, "For the most part, yes. Viewer feedback was great ... advertisers were very happy ... studies showed retention was high ... but not every advertiser wants to pay that premium." Plus, there's an additional production factor of doing shows that are slightly longer than usual.

Ready for Tonight's Episode of Fringe?

Let's see... Where's my checklist?

Episodes. Along with the usual episode discussion starting at 9:00 Eastern, we'll be asking, "Was Episode 2 better than the Pilot?" Hope to see you there.

Screencaps. You may have seen the Pilot, but did you catch all those easter eggs (hidden content compliments of the creators)? Well, now that you know to watch for them, be sure to let us know if you see any.

We also have spoilers from tonight's episode for those of you who just can't wait. For those of you who can, be sure to check back for the post episode Podcast (complete with Australian accent).

Last but certainly not least, a special thanks to everyone who has helped to get Fringepedia out of the starting blocks and up to speed.

News Update: J.J. Abrams, Blair Brown & Remote Free TV

Advertising Age - 'Remote-Free TV' Debuts With Fox's 'Fringe':

Fox's gambit will let the method stand for an entire season's run of programs. A mock "Remote-Free TV" version of "Fringe" reviewed by Advertising Age doesn't break for an ad until the episode runs for 16 minutes. Only one ad appears. The next break comes at 32 minutes into the program, with two ads. A third break, at 39 minutes, contains two ads and a single promo for a Fox show. Breaks grow more frequent the longer the show goes on; presumably, viewers who have stuck with the plot this deep into the episode will want to stick around and see how the stories end. No ad break contains more than two commercials.

More...

Hollywood.com - Five Questions for 'Fringe' Creator JJ Abrams:

Hollywood.com: Can you shed some light on Blair Brown’s character [Nina Sharp]?

J.J. Abrams: In the shows that we’ve been working on since the pilot, too, the question of sort of, you know, is she to be trusted? Is she good or bad? She’s sort of the kind of like guru character. She is sort of this amazing font of information and I think that the fun about who she is and what she is obviously will reveal itself as the show goes on, but what I love is the ambiguity of her character, that you think from the beginning this Massive Dynamic company sort of looks like, oh, it’s the big bad conspiracy company, but you start to get a different taste of that as the thing goes on.

More...

Fox to Fill Fringe's Gap with "Hole"

One of the unique features of the premiere season of FRINGE is the so-called "remote-free TV", which promises half of the normal commercials of a regular show (typically 20 minutes per hour).

However, we have wondered how an one hour and 22 minute show could fill a two-hour premiere slot and have less commercials.

To fill the gap, Fox will debut "Hole in the Wall" immediately after the FRINGE season premiere, "letting viewers sample two of its highest-profile new shows at once."

"Hole" is Japanese style game-show that is already a hit around the world, and on YouTube where is goes by the nickname "Human Tetris".

After the premiere, "The Wall" will move back to it's regular time slot on Thursdays, and FRINGE will continue the rest of the season with 50 minutes episodes and 10 minutes of commercials.

Click here to read the full article, or visit TVWeek.com

Fox's 'Hole' to Ride 'Fringe' Coattails

By Josef Adalian

Fox is hoping the creator of "Lost" can help its new reality show "Hole in the Wall" get found by viewers.

The network has quietly scheduled a 25-minute sneak preview of "Hole" behind the Tuesday, Sept. 9 premiere of "Fringe," the new drama from J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. "Hole" will air from 9:35 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Among the most highly anticipated new shows of the fall, "Fringe" was designed to air as a two-hour pilot. But in May, after the pilot was filmed, Fox announced that the show would air with a reduced commercial load, allowing advertisers to hawk their wares in a less-crowded environment.

Weekly episodes of "Fringe" will run about 50 minutes, with producers cramming in extra content. But with the show's pilot built to fit into a normal two-hours-with-commericals slot, Fox needed to find something to fill the programming hole.

Enter "Hole."

Fox executives considered several possibilities to fill the gap, including a fall preview special. Ultimately, the network decided to turn the night into an event, letting viewers sample two of its highest-profile new shows at once.

"Hole" is still scheduled to settle into its regular Thursday night slot on Sept. 11. The pilot for "Fringe" will be repeated on Sunday, Sept. 14. Fox is still finalizing plans for how to fill the 25-minute gap left by the Sunday encore

Will the Fringe Pilot be Remote Free TV?

Fringe will debut FOX's Remote Free TV concept by running only half the number of commercial minutes per episode as is typical for an hour-long program. According to the theglobeandmail.com, that equates to "50 minutes of programming in each hour-long episode." THR defines Remote Free TV as "commercial loads of about five minutes per hour, about half the usual," which, minus 60, equals 55 minutes of programming. Regardless of whose math is correct, the Fringe Pilot that was screened for the press and the version leaked online are reported from 82 to 90 minutes in length, which falls short of a theoretical two hour Remote Free premiere by at least 10 minutes, and possibly as many as 20.

In spite of rumors and confirmation that the Pilot is being tinkered with, Comic-Con's July 23 screenings consist of two 90 minute slots: 6:00–7:30 and 7:30-9:00. Does this mean Comic-Con attendees won't be seeing a Pilot tweaked to the point of being Remote Free TV friendly? Or does it mean Fringe may be Remote Free TV, but the Fringe Pilot isn't?

p.s. Don't miss Fringe at Comic-Con. See our Complete Fringe Schedule for Comic-Con 2008, and if you're not able to attend, watch this space all next week for the latest Comic-Con coverage.