‘Fringe’ Season 5 Stalled Over Star’s Sleeping Disorder

Production on the 5th and final season of Fox’s sci-fi cult-hit Fringe has been delayed as star John Noble seeks treatment for a sleeping disorder.

The show announced that it would be going on a two week hiatus due to 63-year-old John Noble, who suffers from a sleeping disorder. Noble plays Dr. Walter Bishop, considered the “breakout character” of the show, and is seeking treatment for his condition while the show is on hiatus, reports Yahoo!.

Fringe will resume production on August 7th, and showrunners have said the delay will not affect the series’ September 28th premiere date.

The Huffington Post opines that though the stars might be itching to get back to work, they aren’t necessarily anxious for the end of the series. “This year, Joel Wyman, who is our executive producer, has been kind of shockingly forthcoming, because our show is usually pretty impenetrable,” said Joshua Jackson, who plays Noble’s character’s son on the show. “But this is the last year, and I guess it’s a new leaf. He was like, ‘I want everybody engaged. I want everybody to know exactly what they’re doing.'”

Fringe premiered back in 2008 on Fox, and stars Noble and Jackson as well as Anna Torv as the show’s central character, “Olivia Dunham.” The show focuses on the FBI’s “Fringe Division,” which investigates preternatural phenomenon. The 5th season will be the show’s last, and premieres Fri., Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.

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