Tonight marks the return of Fringe following a six week hiatus. Fans are understandably nervous by the network’s decision to move the series from the most-watched night of TV to one of the least. FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly insists that they haven’t given up on Fringe and hopes that faithful viewers will follow it to a new night. He recently said, “It’s a fantastic show, and honestly, I’d be heartbroken if it went away.”
Still, the show’s ratings have been in decline this season, perhaps because it’s now airing opposite CBS’ geeky Big Bang Theory instead of Survivor. Fringe star Joshua Jackson isn’t sure why the ratings have gone down. He tells the Daily News, “If you put a gun to my head, I couldn’t explain to you why the viewership has gone down from last year when all the pieces remain the same. It’s a mystery to me.”
Thus far this season, Fringe has been averaging a 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.08 million viewers. That’s significantly lower than last season when it averaged a 2.8 rating and 7.34 million.
Despite Reilly’s support, few are naive enough to believe that, if the numbers aren’t there, Fringe won’t be cancelled. Jackson believes that the producers have an emergency plan to wrap up the series at the end of this season if need be. He hopes that won’t happen and rationed, “It’s not that not enough people are watching Fringe, it’s that not enough people are watching Fringe during the hour that it’s on the air, which is key for the network. You don’t have to go to school the next morning. You can always go out drinking an hour later.”
What do you think? Will the move to Fridays kill Fringe? Will it be renewed for season four or be cancelled?
Image courtesy FOX.
Well I love this show, it’s one of the best shows in US.
However, the real Olivia is getting more and more upsetting and why can’t the script writer just make the real Olivia beat the false Olivia? This I think can help bring back some heart-broken viewers who want to see a positive change in Olivia’s relationship with Peter. PLEASE KEEP THIS SHOW.
This show is sacred to me. I mean I’ll only return phones calls after Fringe on Friday night. Why in Canada, Space channel, the equivalent of Sify in the States, who had it during the first two seasons didn’t do so – and I asked – is above my undederstanding. It’s right up their alley! I know, it’S easier to listen to a show that will numb your intellect, but once in a while, it’s interesting to have one that will have you asking yourself where it’S leading, think out of the beaten path. I truly hope it is not… Read more »
What do I think? I think that Television ratings being the guideline that determines if a show is cancelled or not, is stupid. TV ratings are guesses, not facts.
The show is good in every aspect . Give it a chance.
I loved Fringe the first season. It was quirky with the right mix of seriousness and fun. Then last year rather than a new situation to untangle each week…it focused on the parallel universe plot..which became somewhat cartoonish. We need to get back to the original interesting, funny, quirky writing that made the show so unique and interesting. Please! I want to love watching it again!
Time to start campaigning for USA or TBS to pick it up after Fox cancels it (Syfy is a lost cause).
i totally agree with @CGI to all those people who want fringe to be dumbed down its not gonna happen they already said it aint gonna happen the series is great as it is without having to watch boring same old episodes i suggest people go watch reruns of X-files u can go half a series without any story arc which in my opinion makes the show lack depth.
i agree with @CGI to all those people who want fringe to be dumbed down its not gonna happen they already said it aint gonna happen the series is great as it is without having to watch boring same old episodes i suggest people go watch reruns of X-files u can go half a series without any story arc which in my opinion makes the show lack depth.
Totally disagree with those calling for Fringe to shy away from the big story and stick to smaller stuff. The ever-escalating series of revelations are what makes the show. Fringe owes a lot to X-Files but – for the record – X-Files has nothing on this masterpiece.
Oh no you didnt! X-Files reins supreme over Fringe any day. I ma a HUGE fan of Fringe, dont ge me wrong, but there is now way Fringe can surpass the stories, mystery, and glory of X-Files.
Fringe is now a boring mess. They could have done SO much with the alternate universe and gave us fun details but all we got were blimps, twin towers and people don’t use pens there. Also they’ve made Olivia a prissy, narrow minded prude who is having SOOO much trouble with Peter’s “affair” with…wait for it, Her. Nice way to trash a character J.J. Dr. Bishop wants to get smarter? Who needs that? We love him as he Is! It’s like making Noble Captain Kirk, suddenly a drug addict. Just boneheaded choice after boneheaded choice. And the whole show is… Read more »
I love the show ! I would luck for this show ! But the public like more mistery and action ! But elegance similar Lost and to stay with the hot head, for describe the misteries. I love the show. I would like very much don’t go to end. Good Luck !I like very much tha Peter is the centre , but will can there is reciprocity between Peter and Olivia. And the Universes , will go to the end ? The human been conflict making the world to the end. Good Luck the show. I love you very much.… Read more »
With DVRs, Tivos, internet, itunes, etc., these numbers truly reflect the amount of people watching scripted television at the exact time a show is aired. People want to prepare to watch episodic programming. Reality shows maintain high ratings because a viewer can miss ten to fifteen minutes and it doesn’t even matter. If a viewer is away from the set for five minutes of Fringe, a key plot point is missed, and it ruins the whole story. Over 2 million people have joined the Fringe Facebook page, that many members would be really hard to produce if the ratings accurately… Read more »
Get back to the” X- Files” like shows.
Love the show. It did it’s best when it came on after house on Mondays.
Fringe is not doing well because it used to have wierd/unexplainable things happen in the start of the show and tell you how it happened at the end. Now there are these shapeshifters and a whole extra world. Just go back to the simple oddities. Forget this huge, complicated story.
I quite agree