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Fringe is the 4th TV Series co-created by J. J. Abrams (Felicity, Alias, Lost) and third collaboration with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (The Transformers, Star Trek, Mission Impossible III, Alias). It is produced by Warner Bros./Bad Robot, and deals with a research scientist named Walter Bishop (who Orci describes as "Frankenstein mixed with Albert Einstein"), his son, and a female FBI agent who brings them back together. The show is being described as a cross between The X-Files, Altered States and The Twilight Zone. Like Abrams' previous TV shows, it will have an overarching mythology. A two-hour, $10,000,000 pilot is being produced, where Walter is in a mental hospital.

On January 17, 2008, it was revealed that Kirk Acevedo, Tomas Arana and Mark Valley would be playing main characters in the pilot episode. Acevedo and Valley will play FBI agents. Arana's part is unknown.

On January 24, 2008, it was revealed that John Noble and Lance Reddick would be playing main characters in the series. Noble will play one of the three lead characters: Walter Bishop. Reddick will play Phillip Broyles, a special agent for Homeland Security who heads the special Fringe division, which is established to investigate a series of terrorist/paranormal events.

Australian actress Anna Torv has been tapped to play the lead role in Fringe, Fox’s upcoming SF drama from J.J. Abrams according to The Hollywood Reporter. Actress Blair Brown and Jasika Nicole have also joined the cast. Torv has been cast as Olivia Warren, a young, tough FBI agent who is forced to confront the spread of unexplained phenomena and work with Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), an institutionalized scientist whose work might be at the center of a coming storm. Brown will play the brilliant Nina Cord, a 16-year veteran at Prometheus Corp., a cutting-edge research facility. Nicole will play the recurring role of Astrid, a stunning federal assistant. Lance Reddick and Kirk Acevedo also star. The two-hour pilot is being directed by Alex Graves.

Joshua Jackson is returning to television as the male lead in Fringe, Fox’s high-profile sci-fi drama from J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci says The Hollywood Reporter. The two-hour $10 million pilot, directed by Alex Graves, centers on FBI agent Olivia Warren (Anna Torv) who teams with Peter Bishop (Jackson) and his estranged father, institutionalized scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), to confront the spread of unexplained phenomena. Jackson was the producers’ early choice for the role of Peter Bishop, a high-school dropout with an IQ of 190, and a misfit who is scrambling to erase a gambling debt.

J.J. Abrams' new Fox drama Fringe follows the stories of government agents who investigate mysterious occurrences that exist in a slightly skewed reality. It certainly sounds like another X-Files... but is it?

"I would be a fool to say there are no influences," Abrams admitted during Fox's TCA press tour. "Yes, there's an FBI agent and some weird stuff. But I'd like to think the similarities end there."

Abrams unspooled a long list of other influences from "that place where medicine and science meet in real life," including Twin Peaks, The Twilight Zone, Nightstalker, the writings of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook, and even David Cronenberg films. If all these references give you cold-sweat flashbacks of that time you tried to finish reading A Tale of Two Cities before the next episode of Lost rolled around, fear not. Abrams is sympathetic.

He told a story about recently watching an old ep of Alias with his pal Greg Grunberg. "I was so confused. It was impenetrable," says Abrams, the, um, creator of Alias. "I was like, ‘Who the f--- is that guy?" In that respect, he says, Fringe is an experiment. "You don't have to watch episodes 1, 2 and 3 to understand 4. Each episode has a story, but over the course of the season there will be arcs. Hopefully you will want to see all the episodes." [Note: I saw the pilot last night. I'm guessing you will.]

Yeah I'm on board for this show. I thought it was great.
And yeah the twist at the end surprised me too. Didnt see that coming at all.

Joshua Jackson was a little annoying trying to be the comic relief but it wasnt too bad. I didnt really have any problems with the show besides that. The old man is gonna be classic. And the chick is pretty cool so far.

Creepy black guy from Lost is a completely different character than he in on Lost. I was surprised he could be just some hard ass cop.

I liked the fact Charlie kept calling that chick sweetheart.