Fringe (season 4)
Encyclopedia
The fourth season of the American science fiction
television series Fringe
premiered on Fox
on September 23, 2011, and will consist of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions
in association with Warner Bros. Television
. The show was officially renewed for a fourth season on March 24, 2011.
The producers stated they will continue to employ the use of flashbacks episodes as they "deepened the emotions of these characters", using these as well as flash-forwards "if it suits the story and the things we are trying to get across". Pinkner and Wyman also stated that they view the premiere episode of the fourth season "like a new pilot" to draw in viewers who wanted to watch the show but did not know when to start. Actor John Noble later clarified that this approach can be used "to unravel some of that mythology a bit" to explain the impact of the disappearance of Peter to new viewers. Despite the apparent disappearance of his character, Joshua Jackson remains as the show's lead actor and is committed to a full fourth season. Jackson stated that Peter will be back on the show, but "will be different than he was before". This fact was played with at the 2011 San Diego Comic Convention where the Fringe cast appeared for a panel; a teaser video showed fake auditions for the open role of Peter, and included cameo appearances by Michael Emerson
, Zachary Quinto
, Jorge Garcia
, Danny Pudi
, and Jeff Probst
and concluded with Jackson himself dressed as an Observer.
.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
premiered on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on September 23, 2011, and will consist of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Productions is an American film and television production company owned by J. J. Abrams. It is responsible for the television series Alias, Lost, What About Brian, Fringe, Six Degrees, Undercovers, Person of Interest and the feature length films Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , ...
in association with Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
. The show was officially renewed for a fourth season on March 24, 2011.
Main cast
- Anna TorvAnna TorvAnna Torv is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.-Early life:...
as Olivia DunhamOlivia DunhamFBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv.... - Joshua JacksonJoshua JacksonJoshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
as Peter BishopPeter BishopPeter Bishop is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson.-Fictional character biography:... - John NobleJohn NobleJohn Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theater director of more than 80 plays. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia and is currently starring as scientist Walter Bishop in the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.He made occasional appearances on the...
as Dr. Walter BishopWalter Bishop (Fringe)Walter Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.-Arc:... - Lance ReddickLance ReddickLance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
as Phillip Broyles - Blair BrownBlair BrownBonnie Blair Brown is an American theater, film, and television actress. She has had a number of high profile roles, including a Tony Award-winning turn in the play Copenhagen on Broadway, as well as a run as the title character in the television comedy-drama The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,...
as Nina Sharp - Jasika NicoleJasika NicoleJasika Nicole is an American actress and illustrator from Birmingham, Alabama. She is most famous for portraying the character of Astrid Farnsworth in the TV series Fringe....
as Astrid Farnsworth - Seth GabelSeth GabelSeth Gabel is an American actor. Gabel plays the role of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series Fringe.-Career:...
as Lincoln Lee
Recurring cast
- Michael CerverisMichael CerverisMichael Cerveris is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including in several Stephen Sondheim musicals: Assassins, Sweeney Todd, Road Show, and Passion...
as September/The Observer - Michelle KrusiecMichelle KrusiecMichelle J. Krusiec born October 2, 1974 in Fallon, Nevada, is an American actress of Taiwanese ancestry.Krusiec was recruited to be one of six globe-trotting travel reporters for the Discovery Channel new series called Travelers...
as Nadine Park
Episodes
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
U.S. viewers (million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Production
According to executive producers/showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman, the fourth season will start with the idea that "Peter no longer exists", and also that the audience will "very much see the consequences of what happened in Seasons 1, 2 and 3". These consequences may include changes in the past; Pinkner and Wyman note that though Peter was the impetus for Walter to cross over starting the chain of events, in this alternate history, Walter and William likely would have found their own way to cross, leading to the same events but with some events that "may have happened differently". Specifically, they identified that instead of Walter being brought out of a mental institution by Peter, Olivia becomes the one that does this; this changes Walter's re-acclimation to the outside world, and further alters Astrid's fate, now a field agent instead of being Walter's caretaker.The producers stated they will continue to employ the use of flashbacks episodes as they "deepened the emotions of these characters", using these as well as flash-forwards "if it suits the story and the things we are trying to get across". Pinkner and Wyman also stated that they view the premiere episode of the fourth season "like a new pilot" to draw in viewers who wanted to watch the show but did not know when to start. Actor John Noble later clarified that this approach can be used "to unravel some of that mythology a bit" to explain the impact of the disappearance of Peter to new viewers. Despite the apparent disappearance of his character, Joshua Jackson remains as the show's lead actor and is committed to a full fourth season. Jackson stated that Peter will be back on the show, but "will be different than he was before". This fact was played with at the 2011 San Diego Comic Convention where the Fringe cast appeared for a panel; a teaser video showed fake auditions for the open role of Peter, and included cameo appearances by Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
, Zachary Quinto
Zachary Quinto
Zachary John Quinto is an American actor and producer. Quinto grew up in Pennsylvania and was active in high school musical theater. In the early 2000s he guest starred in television series and appeared in a recurring role in the serial drama 24 from 2003 to 2004...
, Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
, Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi is an American actor, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early years:Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago and grew up speaking Polish...
, and Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst
Jeffrey Lee "Jeff" Probst is an American game show host, executive producer and a reporter. He is best known as the host of the U.S. version of the reality show Survivor.-Biography:...
and concluded with Jackson himself dressed as an Observer.
Ratings
The season premiere was watched by an estimated 3.5 million viewers. It scored a 1.5/5 ratings share among viewers 18-49, up 25% from the previous spring's season finaleThe Day We Died
"The Day We Died" is the third season finale of the Fox science fiction drama television series Fringe. It is the season's 22nd episode and the series' 65th episode overall. The finale follows the aftermath of Peter entering and activating the doomsday device...
.