Fringe Renewed for Third Season

Great news today as Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Fox has picked up the sci-fi show Fringe for a third season. While the show has strong support from reviewers and fans it has been in some danger due to the relatively high production costs and ratings that have not been strong enough to make renewal a sure thing. It seemed like a good bet that it would be coming back but many saw Fox as having to make a decision between it and Lie to Me. No word on the latter as of yet but it is in a similar situation where prospects look good.

The season two ratings for Fringe, averaging about eight million viewers and just under a 3.0 in the 18-34 demo, have been very respectable considering the circumstances. The Thursday 9pm schedule is brutal with Fringe having to face direct competition from three of the biggest shows on TV in Grey’s Anatomy, CSI,  and The Office. This has resulted in Fringe being one of the programs benefiting the most when counting in DVR ratings. That likely factored into the decision and it could come into play when deciding whether the show will occupy the same time slot come season three.