Not only is Fringe, one of my favorite dramas on television, coming back for a ratehr unexpected fourth season to FOX this fall, it's doing so with a new character. Emily Meade, who was most recently on HBO's The Wire, will play a rookie FBI agent on the sci-fi drama in the show's season finale this May in what will likely be a recurring role.

The big one-two punch of a new possible lead character for Fringe coupled with the show getting a full fourth season order is surprising. Fringe has never been much in the way of a ratings blockbuster. It's been shuffled around the schedule by FOX and recently landed in the 8 PM C/T Friday night time slot. That's faily hideous treatment for a well produced drama that seems to be a dying breed on network television.

With police and medical procedurals being the norm, I didn't think that a lowly rated sci-fi drama about strange happenings and an alternate universe much like our own had a chance. With TV viewers far more interested in watching average schmucks be jackasses (Jersey Shore) and glorified karaoke contests like American Idol bringing in huge ratings and advertising dollars, I was beginning to doubt whether quality television which requires you to pay attention and think -- opening your mind to things that might possibly be real somewher ein the future -- had a place on the airwaves.

FOX has proven me wrong today. Let's hope that they follow through with the full season (22 episodes) in 2011-2012

Posted in Labels: drama, FOX, TV Posted by Sornie at Friday, March 25, 2011