J.J. Abrams’ cultish, mythology-driven show Fringe is facing potential cancellation. Though the show is a fan-favorite and has survived into its fourth season, it continues to face two of its greatest antagonists, and no, I’m not talking about shape-shifters or Walternate. I’m talking about consistently mediocre ratings and the Friday night “death slot”. But if Fringe has one plucky can-do hero in its corner, it’s Joshua Jackson.
Just yesterday at the Television Critics Assoc. press tour, Fox chief Kevin Reilly wasn’t pulling any punches when talking about Fringe . He said that the show was completely cost-ineffective, stating that Fox, “lose[s] a lot of money on that show. At that rating, on that night, it’s impossible to make money … and we’re not in the business of losing money,”
When asked to respond to Reilly’s comments, Joshua Jackson, who plays Peter Bishop on the show, said this:
“Look, I’d rather not get canceled but if we did get canceled, so long as they have enough time to properly finish the story that to me is the most important thing, […] Even though Kevin Reilly had very honest things to say about the show, I get it, it’s a money-making business and if we’re not making that money then we don’t deserve to be on the air.”
Jackson wasn’t completely satisfied accepting his potential fate, expressing a desire to explore different mediums to finish the story of Fringe .
“Yeah, however the story needs to end or whatever they put together as the ending, whether it’s at the end of season 4, whether it’s a TV movie. They’ve talked about doing graphic novels; whatever it is, I just want it to properly end,”
For some reason, his comments remind me of Firefly fans.
In any case, Fringe returns from hiatus this week, 9:00 P.M. on Fox. Though there have been cancellation rumors, there’s nothing out there to suggest that Fox will pull the rest of the season before all episodes have aired.
So what do you think? Still looking forward to Fringe season 5?
