'Fringe' Is Money-Loser For Fox
UPDATED: Could Warner Bros. shop 'Fringe' elsewhere?
If anyone is trying to discard the reputation of Fox of not giving science-fiction shows a chance, network president Kevin Reilly says he hopes what's happening to "Fringe" changes that.
Despite operating in the red for the last couple of seasons for the network, Reilly has kept the show around. And there is still a chance he might keep Dr. Bishop and Olivia around for a little longer after this season. Yet, fans probably shouldn't get their hopes up too high.
"We lost a lot of money on the show," Reilly recently told attendees of the Television Critics Association winter press tour. "We're not in the business of losing money."
"Fringe" has lived on Friday nights since last season, and has been chalking up the network's lowest ratings. Yet, the network has kept the show around, mostly because of revised licensing deals with Warner Bros., which produces the show, and a desire to keep what it feels is high-quality program on the air.
"Star Trek" director and "Fringe" co-creator J.J. Abrams said that he hoped there would be another season of the show on Fox.
"There's some stuff coming up that's so great," Abrams said, according to IGN. "They're doing such amazing work. Maybe it's just that dump optimism of hoping that when good work is done, it gets rewarded."
Abrams added that if Fox were to cancel the show, it's possible that Warner Bros. could shop the show somewhere else. However, such a move rarely results in a pickup elsewhere.
So far this year, "Fringe" is averaging a 2.0 rating/3 share, according to Fast National overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co. That's down nearly 28 percent from last year, and is ranked No. 75 overall of 84 shows. Its audience loss -- which still reflects the mid-season change from Thursdays last season -- is among the top five biggest audience losses so far this season. Only audience drops for "Mobbed" on Fox, "Sing-Off" and "Chuck" on NBC, and "Glee" are worse.
"Fringe" also is the lowest-rated of all network shows on the Big Four. The only shows that have smaller audiences are found on The CW, and even then, "The Vampire Diaries" is just 10 percent behind.
Yet, Fox remembers the fan backlash when it ditched shows such as "Harsh Realm" from Chris Carter and "Firefly" from Joss Whedon before they could get moving, and Ronald D. Moore's "Virtuality" before it could even get a series pickup.
At least with "Fringe," even if this were to be the last season, Reilly promises that the show would have the opportunity to wrap up. If that's the case, then he'll likely have to make that decision soon, because the production clock on this season is ticking quickly.
In the meantime, Reilly is trying to keep fan campaigns to save the show at a minimum.
"Please don't start the letter-writing campaign right now, I can't take it," he said.
"Fringe" airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
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by eleft | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 13:28 #1
If Warner were smart, they would announce season five as the final season for Fringe, and put a 13 episode season on TNT. TNT is one of the Warner cable networks, and has a high enough coverage nationally that the show has a good chance in pulling ratings similar to its Friday night slot on Fox.
I understand it does better than average internationally, and it does well in DVD sales. Giving it a fifth season would also assure enough episodes for a syndication deal.
by charlituna | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 14:04 #2
I have to agree Fringe isn't a bad show. But it's gotten too out there without really tight writing and it seems rather clear that that has turned off viewers. Perhaps it is time to kill it. Heck they could handle two issues at once. Terra Nova actually made its budget and is actually rather perfect at 13 episodes a season. So announce Fringe is getting a final half season to wrap up the story and put it up in half the season with Terra Nova in the other half even if a show gets moved at midseason to do it. Or they could just do their spring reality in those two slots after the two scripteds wrap.
by browncoat1984 | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 14:26 #3
Fringe in my opinion is one of the best shows on TV and has an extremely loyal audience. Everyone who watches it loves it and we can't wait for the next episode. I for one hope it goes longer than 5 seasons because I am freaking SICK of this stupid "5 seasons and its over" crap for sci-fi shows today! I'm so tired of getting into a show only to have it canceled a few years later and have to find something new to get into. And networks wonder why the genre does so poorly today? Either A) They cancel a show before it can develop an audience or B) they cancel it when it DOES have that audience (Eureka, Chuck) and then start up new genre shows, cancel it after one year, then the following year start up ANOTHER wave of genre shows expecting the same audience to tune in.
If Fringe does poorly in the ratings its only because of FOX'S OWN STUPIDITY IN PROGRAMMING IT! I don't even know when the show has new episodes anymore! The show aired in September and its only had what, SEVEN new episodes with a 3-week break THREE EPISODES IN! That's inexcusable and its no wonder we never watch it live! If Fringe is performing poorly, its because of FOX's usual moronic programming that it is. The audience is there. Look at the DVR numbers. If FOX cancels Fringe before its time (the producers want a 7 year series) then I will never watch another genre show on FOX again.
Here's a tip for FOX - give Fringe a fifth season. Air it in January with NO repeats or few repeats like 24 or Lost did and see how it does. Air it consistently without month-long breaks. Without promising us a new episode and then turning around and saying "you get a re-run instead" - and I hate how they call them "encore" episodes. Its a freaking re-run, morons!
Words can't express how frustrated I and others (just read comments on Facebook or youtube) are at FOX's moronic scheduling. Its no wonder the show gets such low ratings when nobody knows when new episodes are going to air!
Also: RE Terra Nova - I hope they don't choose Terra Nova over Fringe. Terra Nova was okay but nowhere near as good as Fringe has been. While definitely watchable and especially enjoyable towards the end, it suffers from the same Branon Braga issues that his era of Star Trek (Voyager and Enterprise) suffered from -two-dimensional predictable characters who are only there to serve the plot.
by mhinman | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 16:10 #4
If WB threw it on TNT or a cable channel, they would likely have to reduce the budget significantly, or really be prepared to make an investment and hope that they get the payoff and returns from syndication and DVD.
by mhinman | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 16:12 #5
'Fringe' aired four episodes in a row to start the season (9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14), and then aired three episodes in a row beginning Nov. 4.
by Athena28 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 14:12 #6
Interesting b/c hour long dramas do poorly in syndication as repeats. Guess they expect to make $ in DVD sales.
by mhinman | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 16:51 #7
Well, technically, hour-long serialized shows do poorly in syndication. Procedurals actually do quite well.