Press Release: FOX ANNOUNCES PRIMETIME SLATE FOR 2008-2009 SEASON

FOX ANNOUNCES PRIMETIME SLATE FOR 2008-2009 SEASON

TWO NEW DRAMAS, THREE NEW COMEDIES AND ONE UNSCRIPTED SERIES JOIN SCHEDULE

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED J.J. ABRAMS DRAMA "FRINGE"...

New York (Thursday, May 15, 2008) Peter Liguori, Chairman, Entertainment; and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, today unveiled the FOX primetime schedule for the 2008-2009 television season speaking before the national advertising community at New York City Center.

"Broadcast television needs a jolt. We feel it's our responsibility, as the No. 1 network for the last four seasons, to provide that electricity," said Liguori. "The goal of our business is entertaining viewersthey're our lifeblood, and it's incumbent upon us to make sure their first and favorite entertainment destination is FOX."

Reilly added, "We're going to make plenty of noise and yet potentially have more stability and success than we've had historically in the fourth quarter. We'll be focused in the fall with two new series one comedy and one drama and then use our big assets in January to launch an even more powerful second season."

The new event drama premiering this fall is FRINGE, a fantastical thriller from acclaimed writer/producer J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible III," "Alias"). Joshua Jackson ("Dawson's Creek"), John Noble ("Lord of the Rings") and newcomer Anna Torv star as an unlikely trio who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

...

FOX kicks off the new season with special two-hour premiere events the week of August 25 including: ... FRINGE Tuesday, August 26 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT);...

FOX PRIMETIME SCHEDULE: FALL 2008

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE

First Images From Fringe Pilot

The NYT and USA Today have images from the Fringe pilot accompanying their stories on FOX's upfront presentation at Gotham's City Center today.

My guess is that these images were part of a press packet. Hopefully one of the lucky recipients of said packet will see fit to post all the material or they could forward them to us and we'll put them on the web.

The accompanying blurb from the NYT story:

The network is hoping that “Fringe,” the drama created by Mr. Abrams, among others, will have better luck. It is the story of an F.B.I. special agent (played by Anna Torv) who is called upon to investigate a mysterious Boston plane crash. For assistance, she seeks out a brilliant scientist who has the disadvantage of having been institutionalized for the previous two decades.

FOX's Fringe Set To Film In NYC?

The question has been asked. Where will Fringe be shot? Back to Toronto? LA? Boston? Well, the NY Post thinks they know.

Nobody's discussing new series locating here until this week's upfronts are over. Except me. Me, I'm discussing Warners' investigative job "Fringe." Originally set for cheapo Toronto, thanks to those NYC incentives, it'll shoot here. All over here. Four main roles - an FBI type, a female, a wacko scientist and his son. It's Emmy-winning J.J. Abrams' fourth TV show. He also did "Mission: Impossible III," so he does these big-time off-the-wall type things. This is sci-fi mixed with mythology mixed with cop stuff mixed with a mad scientist. We're talking Frankenstein meets Einstein meets Law & Disorder. -- Cindy Adams, New York Post

Perhaps it's just me, but while the report may in fact be accurate, something about it leaves me doubting.

Edit: Confirmation. Fringe is going to be be shot in NYC.

Another Positive Review of the Fringe Pilot Script

This one is pretty much spoiler free, and rather positive, and by a screenwriter (i.e. argument from authority). Jill Golick says of the Fringe script titled simply "Pilot":

There are a number of things that struck me about the script. It’s incredibly well written and tells an exciting story that you don’t want to put down. Abrams uses lots of “fucks” and “shits” in his direction (not in dialogue). It’s quite effective. The writing is casual and he pauses to set up things that will become part of the series format; the way lettering will appear on the screen, how montages will work, etc. ...read more.

Regarding the many reviews of the script, a source tells us that script is an early version and has since seen a lot of changes. So, it's safe to say the show will be even better than the glowingest script reviews (and some of them really glowed).

FOX to Announce 2008-09 Schedule Thursday (May 15)

Zap2it has a thorough piece on Fringe. It doesn't hurt that they've read the script (or at least an early version of it), but they also seem well versed in how a script should read, and sufficiently objective about it (just my read, but there's a lot of jealousy out there when it comes to JJ Abrams' success).

The article opens with the news that's being reported far and wide as of today, "FOX will announce its 2008-09 schedule at its upfront presentation to advertisers on Thursday (May 15)," along with this telling insight, "But fans have already been anticipating Dollhouse and Fringe for months." Telling in that it tells me that the author of the piece, Daniel Fienberg, reads the Internet (which is more than can be said for most "connected" reporters). A few excerpts of Fienberg's first impressions:

Created by J.J. Abrams with frequent cohorts Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, Fringe is expected to have a place on the fall schedule, launching with a two-hour pilot believed to be budgeted in the $10-million range and directed by Alex Graves (Journeyman). The cast of the X-Files-esque drama is led by relative newcomer Anna Torv -- hoping to catch a little of the magic Abrams gave to Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner and Evangeline Lilly -- but includes familiar faces including Joshua Jackson (Pacey!!!), John Noble (Denethor!!!) and Lance Reddick.

...Keeping in mind that between rewrites, casting and directing choices original pilot scripts can be as different from the eventual pilot as night and day, here are a few first impressions [having read the script]:

When something disturbing, unexplainable and just a bit icky happens to the passengers on an international flight, FBI Agent Olivia Warren (Torv) begins an investigation that leads her to Dr. Walter Bishop (Noble), a renegade scientist whose unorthodox experiments into fringe phenomena led arrests and eventually institutionalization. Warren can only get Bishop out with the help of his estranged son Peter (Jackson), a young man with a genius IQ, but questionable morals and motivation. The son isn't ready to reconcile with his father, the father isn't ready to be reintegrated into the outside world and Olivia isn't ready to serve as babysitter, but the form an unlikely team. How does the airplane tragedy relate to The Pattern, a race of unexplained occurrences sweeping the world? And what does any of this have to do with the mysterious Prometheus Corporation, one of the world's most forward-thinking companies? And what do we make of Broyles (Reddick), the head of the Homeland Security's newly formed Fringe Division?

...The script has an X-Files meets Altered States meets Alias vibe that's immediately familiar and comfortable. The actual plot of the pilot could probably have fit into a standard hour, but Abrams and Company are making the effort to give the material a global scale and the script plants at least a half-dozen potential running mysteries that will allow Fringe to have both serialized elements and also freak-of-the-week plots. ...

For FOX, the best thing about Fringe -- other than getting into the J.J. Abrams business, of course -- is that the series has the potential to partner with almost any established show on its schedule, ...

...read more.

Fringe First Season Greenlight.

Confirmation of our Friday report that FRINGE had been officially been picked up by FOX for the 2008-09 season comes from Variety who reports it twice, once on Saturday, and again on Sunday.

Fox nabs 'Fringe'

Fox brass were particularly busy during the weekend, giving greenlights to comedies "The Inn" and the animated "Class Dismissed" (previously titled "Sit Down, Shut Up"). On the drama side, Fox picked up J.J. Abrams' two-hour pilot "Fringe."

Drama "Fringe," from Abrams' Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV, revolves around a young femme FBI agent who works with an offbeat scientist to tackle cases involving unexplained medical and scientific phenomena. Pilot was penned by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and helmed by Alex Graves. Skein's cast includes Aussie thesp Anna Torv, Mark Valley and Joshua Jackson. -- Variety

Fox greenlights 'Fringe'

Among the greenlights: The J.J. Abrams entry "Fringe," which follows the exploits of a young female FBI agent who tackles unexplained medical and scientific phenomena. -- Variety

"FRINGE has officially been picked up by FOX for the 2008-09 television season."

This according to Evil Puppet Masters, the official, unofficial insiders blog for all things Bad Robot (and friends). What's the distinction between being officially picked up and the now former status of "a series commitment?" I have no idea, but I'm sure it's an important one (read: important enough to crow about).

If you don't know about Fringe yet, the show is cast. The crew, from director to writers to producers is best summed up as a production dream team. The 2 hour pilot is in the can. It's going to have the scope of Abrams' LOST, packaged in a hybrid of X-Files, Altered States, The Twilight Zone and HOUSE.

Fringe Upfront

The Network Upfronts are next week, and while this is the first time I've had a reason to pay attention to them, my guess/hope that they'll result in newsworthy buzz about Fringe is beginning to look like a good one.

Over at Fox, J.J. Abrams "Fringe" looks like a lock after an enthusiastic response from the network's brass during the weekend. Fox already has given its blessing for staffing to begin on the Warner Bros. TV-produced sci-fi drama.

"Fringe," which has the scope of Abrams' "Lost," is rumored for a fall launch as a key weapon in Fox's effort to shake off its fourth-quarter ratings blues. It could be paired with "Prison Break" or "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." -- THR.com (emphasis mine)

About Fringe TV & Site Map

Where to begin? I should probably start with who I am (but I'll keep it short). I had a real blast blogging about another JJ Abrams project, Cloverfield. I enjoyed it so much that, for a time, it became all consuming. As Cloverfield began to wind down I came to the conclusion that my time was best spent all consumed (read: I find what I want to do when I all growed up). With that decided, the only thing left to do was to find a new project worthy of my obsession. That particular quest was short-lived since soon after I started looking I came across this Wired article about Fringe. I was intrigued, and as I dug deeper into the story, I discovered that Fringe was exactly what I was looking for. A show that's been described as a cross between X-Files, LOST and House, and with an overarching mythology to boot. Yeah, it was safe to say I'd found my new reason for being and the seed for fringetv was sown.

Fringe TV is designed to have something for everyone, or alternatively, everything a fan of Fringe could want. But mostly, it is designed to be a collaborative site because in my experience, those are the best kind.

Site Map:

Fringe TV Blog. This is the masthead or the hub of the site. It is where you'll find the latest news about Fringe from around the web, as well the latest community happenings. A good place to start and yes, if contributing to the blog is your speed, you can.

Fringe TV Sideblog/Forum: A forum is, without a doubt the key ingredient of any fan site. It is where the best discussions take place, and more often then not, where the latest news is first reported.

Fringe TV on Facebook: There's a reason Facebook is all the rage. Join the FOX's 'Fringe' Fanclub & Network Group on Facebook, or use Fringe as an excuse to join Facebook and then join the group.

Fringe TV on Flickr: A group image pool where you can browse images from the show or the set, or add those you've taken or found.

Fringe TV Wiki: An in-depth wiki dedicated to the show, from individual characters and episodes to themes and theories and whatever else might prove relevant.

If you're interested in collaborating or contributing in any aspect of the site, feel free and make yourself at home, or you can contact me regarding higher levels of participation at: editor@fringetelevision.com

Blair Brown - Nina Cord

Blair Brown plays Nina Cord, 16-year veteran at Prometheus Corp: brilliant, ...

Blair Brown - Web Album | IMDb | Wikipedia

PRESS:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Australian actress Anna Torv is J.J. Abrams' latest discovery.

The newcomer to the U.S. has been tapped as the lead in "Fringe," Fox's high-profile sci-fi drama from Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

Veteran TV and stage actress Blair Brown and Jasika Nicole also have joined the cast...

...Brown will play the brilliant Nina Cord, a 16-year veteran at Prometheus Corp., a cutting-edge research facility. - Reuters

Lance Reddick - Phillip Broyles

Lance Reddick plays Phillip Broyles, Department of Homeland Security [Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC)], Paranormal Division: ...



Lance Reddick - Web Album | IMDb | Wikipedia

PRESS:

Lance Reddick, at this point, is best known as Col. Daniels on The Wire. Or, if you like commercials, as the black guy in the trying-way-too-hard-to-be-cool Cadillac commercials. In roughly a month's time, Lance Reddick will be best known for his recurring role on Lost's fourth season. The full details of his Lost character are unknown, but whatever Reddick has done with the role, J.J. Abrams and the Lost team liked what they saw. Abrams has cast Reddick in his new drama pilot Fringe, which is an X-Files style series about a team of agents who investigate paranormal activity. Reddick will play the special agent who heads up the paranormal division of Homeland Security. - BuddyTV

Poll: What's got you excited about Fringe?

Fringe is a television drama co-created by J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and will premier in the fall of 2008 on Fox. The premise: FBI Agent Olivia Warren is forced to team up with a brilliant but institutionalized Dr. Walter Bishop and his son Peter Bishop in an effort to investigate a series of unexplained phenomena...

"Fringe" mixes elements of "The X-Files" and Paddy Chayefsky's "Altered States" with what Abrams calls "a slight 'Twilight Zone' vibe." It will focus on brilliant but possibly crazy research scientist Walter Bishop, his estranged son and a female FBI agent who brings them together.

Episodes will explore self-contained mysteries of the paranormal, as well as the relationships between the three leads.

"So much of the story is relatable people in extraordinary situations," Abrams said. "The show is definitely a nod to 'Altered States' and 'Scanners' and that whole Michael Crichton/Robin Cook world of medicine and science."

There'll also be an overriding mythology that will come into play from time to time, as well as a healthy dose of humor.

"It does the stuff my favorite TV shows and movies do, which is to combine genres that shouldn't fit together," Abrams said. "It's definitely meant to scare the hell out of you, but it's also meant to make you laugh... It pushes all the buttons of things we loved from our childhood."

Driving the show will be the Walter Bishop character, a larger-than-life figure who bears some resemblance to the titular character in Fox's "House." In the pilot, he's in a mental hospital.

"Imagine that your father is Frankenstein mixed with Albert Einstein," Orci said. "He's someone who has the mental ability to solve so many problems but is so different that communicating with them is almost impossible." -- Variety

So the question is, which of those many elements tops your list for reasons to watch?

[YouTube]
Someday soon LOST will end and I need something to replace it.




[Ted | Talks]
You can never have enough mysterious overarching mythologies to puzzle over.




[YouTube]
Nobody eats like John Noble.



[IMDb]
I miss 'Twilight Zone' (careful, this one might date you).



[Wikipedia]
Bad Robot silly! (read: JJ Abrams can do no wrong).




[YouTube]
How could you not be looking forward to a nut-house House?







[NYT]
I like those other guys (Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman).





[IMDb]
I miss 'The X-Files'.





[Dailymotion Video]
There aren't enough pictures of Anna Torv on the web.







[YouTube]
Joshua Jackson ('cause rumor is he's the new George Clooney).







[Fringe Forum]
Other: Got a better reason to watch? Tell us in a comment or join the discussion in the forum.

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