New 'Fringe' Season Five Promo

The newest 30-second teaser for the upcoming fifth and final season of Fringe has hit the web. Things don't look too good for John Noble's bloody and battered Walter Bishop, all the while his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), have a pleasant picnic in the park.

In addition to wrapping up the mind bending story arc of the cult show, the final 13 episodes also promise to follow up on last season's flash forward episode, Letters of Transit, that introduced fans to a dystopian future and the daughter of Peter and Olivia, a member of the resistance force against the mysterious Observers.

From FOX:

"Picking up from the events depicted in last season's flash-forward episode Letters of Transit, the seemingly peaceful Observers seized control of the universe in 2015. Now in 2036, they have become ruthless rulers who will reign supreme. What awaits in the future is the Fringe team's final stand, which will bring together all that they have witnessed in preparation to battle and protect the world."

Fringe season premiere, Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11, is set for Friday, September 28 at 9 p.m. on FOX.

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COMIC-CON SUNDAY TRAILERS: 'Fringe' Season Five, 'True Blood' Comic-Con Exclusive

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TRAILER: 'Fringe' Season Five

Eager fans of FOX's cult sci-fi mindebender Fringe were finally let off the ledge today regarding whether the show would return in the fall for a fifth season.

Kevin Reilly, President of FOX Entertainment announced that a 13-episode fifth and final season has been green lit.

“Fringe is a remarkably creative series that has set the bar as one of television’s most imaginative dramas. Bringing it back for a final 13 allows us to provide the climactic conclusion that its passionate and loyal fans deserve,” said Reilly in a released statement.

“The amazing work the producers, writers and the incredibly talented cast and crew have delivered the last four seasons has literally been out of this world. Although the end is bittersweet, it’s going to be a very exciting final chapter,” Reilly said.

Co-creator and executive producer J.J. Abrams weighed in about the opportunity to finish off the show's journey, “We are thrilled and beyond grateful that FOX – and our fans – have made the impossible possible: Fringe will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way. All of us at Bad Robot are forever indebted to our viewers and the amazingly supportive FOX network for allowing the adventures of Fringe Division to not only continue, but to resolve in a way that perfectly fits the show.”

“This pickup means the world (both of them) to us, because we love sharing these stories with our enthusiastic fans,” added Fringe showrunners and executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman. “On behalf of the cast and crew, we applaud our fans and FOX for allowing us to imagine the impossibilities together for so long. Season Five is going to be a conclusive thrill ride for all of us.”

Check out the Season Five promo released today. 

Fringe concludes its current fourth season on May 4th.

'Fringe' Moving Closer To Season Five In The Fall?

Adding a little more hope for optimistic Fringe fans, according to The Hollywood Reporter, FOX's cult Friday night favorite is still on the radar for a season five pick-up.

Ratings have been hovering low in its present time slot, averaging about three million viewers, and the chance for moving forward with new episodes in the fall seems unlikely.

"There are conversations with both the studio and the network [about possibly going to a season five]," Fringe EP Jeff Pinkner told THR. 

"It is certainly our hope that we have a season five and beyond and creatively we know what season five would be," Pinker said.

Ending at the conclusion of its current fourth season would bring the total episode hours count to 88. Going to a fifth season and topping 100 episodes would ensure a long life in syndication. Though Jeff Pinker and fellow Executive Producer Joel Wyman assure fans that creatively, they have a creative plan outlined for beyond this season.

"Definitely we feel very confident that we know where we would go, should we be lucky enough," Wyman said. "I think for all shows that is. I mean 88 is good, but 100 is better," Wyman continued. "To Jeff and I, we don't really think about those things. That's for someone else to think about. We just do our show and write our episodes and love our show."

"We would never want to continue unless we felt that we had something incredibly creative to say and to do. We do and if the powers that be deem it a plausible solution to go forward, then we're thrilled," Wyman concluded

TVLine also hears that a pulse for next year is a possibility, albeit with a shorter episode run.

"Don’t administer last rites to the show just yet," says TVLine columnist Michael Ausiello.

"Despite those apocalyptic Nielsens, Fringe very much remains in the hunt for another season. One scenario allegedly being bandied about has it returning for a final 15-episode run."

Fringe airs on FOX Fridays at 9 p.m.

SOURCES: The Hollywood Reporter, TVLine

J.J. Abrams Remains "Hopeful" For 'Fringe' Fifth Season

“We remain hopeful that Fringe will be able to continue,” executive producer and co-creator J.J. Abrams told TVLine about extending the life of the mind bending sci-fi show.

The cult FOX series is currently in its fourth season with a loyal but small audience tuning in on Friday nights. However ratings have not been nearly strong enough to guarantee a renewal for next year.

"I share the passion for the show that the fans have," FOX president Kevin Reilly said at the FOX TCA earlier this month.

"We lose a lot of money on the show. At that rating, on that night, it’s almost impossible for us to make money on it. That’s been the case now, over the last season. We’re not in the business of losing money. So, we really do have to sit down with that entity as well, and figure out if there is a number at which it makes sense, or will this be it?" Reilly said about the deciding factors involved in the show's renewal or cancellation.

Executive Producer Jeff Pickner does have some plans laid out for the show's next step, some of which do not rely solely on FOX's final decision to continue forward.

“Worst case scenario, if this were the last aired season of Fringe — and as we’ve said before, there are other outlets where we could continue our stories, be they graphic novels or webisodes — we know what the end of this season is going to be, and it can function as a series finale,” he told TV Line.

The good news for fans is that the writers have an end all set to roll. This season's complicated multi-dimensional storyline has core Fringe fans hooked in, but does prevent any new viewers to jump in at any given point.  But these days there are other places cult shows can find a new lease on life beyond network television.

If Warner Bros Television, who produces Fringe, can lower the fees it charges to license the show to FOX, the likelihood of renewal looks better. A budget cut on Joss Whedon's cult FOX show Dollhouse was instrumental in that series coming back for a second season in 2010. Additionally, extending Fringe to season five is also in the best interest for all parties involved so it can reach 100 episodes, and secure the necessary number of shows for syndication where the show can live on in reruns for years to come.

SOURCE: TVLine