Science today announced that the network has acquired the off-network syndication rights to FRINGE, the acclaimed dramatic series from creators J.J. Abrams (Lost, the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible movies), Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers) and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Transformers), and executive producers Jeff Pinkner (Alias, Lost), J.H. Wyman (The Mexican, Keen Eddie) and Bryan Burk (Lost, Alias, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol). The agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution grants the network the rights to the four existing seasons of the series as well as the upcoming fifth season which debuts on FOX this fall (Fridays 9/8c), as well as behind-the-scenes features and unseen bonus footage. FRINGE will begin airing on SCIENCE in the fourth quarter of 2012.
"FRINGE is the kind of smart, lean-forward programming that our viewers gravitate toward. The combination of compelling characters and excellent science-themed storytelling make this franchise a huge addition for our network," said Debbie Myers, General Manager and Executive Vice President of SCIENCE. "We're going to deepen the audience experience with FRINGE by giving them more of the access to the writers and creative process than ever. We're also going to work with our cadre of leading experts to explore the real-world science that provides the foundation for these completely engrossing narratives."
"We couldn't be more pleased to be in business with SCIENCE," said Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. "By licensing the off-network rights to 'Fringe,' they are acquiring a program with a devoted audience that will further bolster their programming schedule and bring new viewers to the network to discover compatible programs that fit perfectly with their television viewing tastes."
FRINGE explores the ever-blurring line between science fiction and reality, where hybrid monsters tear through sewers, thieves walk through walls and portals open to parallel universes. Unable to police a world in which science has advanced beyond our wildest dreams - and nightmares - FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (series star Anna Torv) seeks help from eccentric 'fringe' scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his jack-of-all trades son, Peter (Joshua Jackson). Under the direction of Special Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick) and assisted by Agents Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole), Charlie Francis (Kirk Acevedo) and Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel), the Fringe Team investigates unusual incidents that defy human logic and unimaginable events that threaten our very existence on a universal scale.
Irrevocably linked to a parallel "other" universe by the machinations of a younger Walter Bishop trying to save the life of his son, Olivia and alternate-born Peter must bridge two universes while wrestling with questions of identity and destiny... and a multiverse threatened by the mysterious Observers. With the help of Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), who runs Massive Dynamic, the omnipresent corporation founded by Bishop's former lab partner, William Bell (recurring guest star Leonard Nimoy), the Fringe team imagines and tests the impossibilities while investigating unbelievable events, macabre crimes, and mystifying cases involving pyrokinesis, neuroscience, cryonics, genetic engineering, astral projection, and other fantastical theories. When the unimaginable happens, it's their job to stop it.
