Craig Blankenhorn/FOXFox has announced that hit sci-fi series Fringe will definitely be coming back for a second season of approximately 22 episodes.
The pickup was widely expected, seeing as how (a) Fringe is running more or less even with The Mentalist for top-rated new series of the year, (b) Fringe is freaky-deaky fun and (c) Fringe comes from the generally acclaimed wunderkinds at Bad Robot—you know, the ones who make Lost and the upcoming Star Trek movie.
Fringe is the story of FBI agent Olivia Dunham's (Anna Torv) entanglement with the mysterious Pattern and the mad genius father-son team of Walter (John Noble) and Peter Bishop (Josh Jackson). The tale will be blown out in the finale with the reveal of Leonard Nimoy as reclusive and powerful technobillionaire William Bell. Cocreator Roberto Orci recently told us about the upcoming May 12 finale: "We were saving so many juicy secrets for years and years, and we're actually going to stick a bunch of them in the finale. That may be the worst idea ever, but we're doing it."
Other Fox renewals (or cancellations), including news about Terminator and Dollhouse, will come Monday, May 18 at the Fox upfront.