Citing how announcing an end point for “Lost” helped revitalize the series, J.J. Abrams is considering the same thing for “Fringe.”
“Just as with ‘Lost’, we didn’t get to a place until the third season where we were saying, ‘OK, we need to know where halfway is,'” Abrams said. “And I feel like that’s something that, … if we’re lucky enough to continue going, I do think that at a certain point it would be a really smart thing to start to say, ‘OK, let’s figure out … what the actual date is so we sort of know … how far we should push things.'”
Abrams says a firm decision on an end-point for the show and it’s mythology hasn’t been decided yet, but that he can see how it would benefit the Fox series.
Abrams thinks the show could benefit from a six-year run like the one used for “Lost.”
As for what fans can expect the rest of this season, Abrams hinted that Leonard Nimoy could be back as William Bell.
“Without saying either way, I think there’s a chance he’ll be back,” Abrams teased.
The second season has seen an acceleration of certain storylines, Abrams added. “Especially the Walter/Peter story, but certainly with … Olivia as well, I think there are certain things that we were actually going to play out longer and we kind of jumped to and did sooner,” he said.
“And then there are other things that … we’ve talked about doing— … her stepfather story—that … we’re putting off. So I feel there’s a lot of … opportunity for where we’re going beyond this season, and I’m going to be bullish and optimistic about that. And I feel like we have a long way to go still, but I think … that the show … has sort of found a kind of rhythm that is nice to see, … and I’m really proud of what we’re doing with it.”
“Fringe” airs tomorrow night on Fox.
I’m very glad to hear that JJ is thinking ahead. This is the kind of show (like his “Lost”) that you can’t leave the audience hanging without some kind of end point to be the payoff. Moore succeeded by doing that very thing with BSG and NBC has failed to do that with Heroes because it appears that the producers are stuck in limbo along with Samuel’s carnival.
Fringe is such an awesome show,I love it! It always captivated my attention completely. I love the relationship between Peter and Walter, the way they talk and just be around each other is so… Well I can’t even come up with a word to describe it lol. Now Peter and Olivia, I have to say I soooooooo want them to get together!!!!!
I JJ is on the right track. Make a few SOLID season then let it end. Continuing a series for the sake of a series, then it becomes Alias. I’d rather have another Lost. Love Fringe.