Fringe co-showrunner Jeff Pinkner has left the series.
Per TV Guide, Pinkner has stepped down with sources claiming it was his own decision to exit the series in order to pursue other projects. The split is said to be amicable.
Pinkner will not retain his executive producer credit and J.H. Wyman will be the sole showrunner for the final season.
In a statement, Fringe co-creator and EP J.J. Abrams said:
“We’re so excited to begin work on a fifth season of Fringe and to be able to deliver the 13 final episodes to our passionate and devoted fans. For four years, J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner have worked tirelessly as a team to keep all the worlds in order on Fringe. We’re thankful for the invaluable contributions Jeff has made to the show and of course wish him well and look forward to working together in the future. J.H. Wyman’s importance to Fringe cannot be overstated, however, and I’m thrilled that he will continue as showrunner for the concluding chapters of our story. We can’t wait for our fans to see what we have in store for them in the wild conclusion of Fringe.”
With the final season only containing 13 episodes, it’s not all that unusual to see Pinkner move onto his next project. Good luck to him in future endeavors, now it’s up to Wyman and his team to bring the good ship Fringe home in this final chapter.
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{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
My gut feeling is the show will be worse off without Pinkner. Im sad to see him go. Wyman was the one who wrote much of the cliche love stuff in season 4, so i hope to god he dosent go down that route in season 5. They have a chance to make the final season amazing like the good old days, lets hope wyman dosent screw it up and give us 13 “a short story about love”‘s
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But “A short story about love” was one episode, that somehow had to exist to give a resolution to Peter and Olivia’s search for each other. The case though was pretty creepy, so it’s not like Joel was all mushy. We really can’t judge him for one episode.
I really don’t have that kind of info, but do we really know that Joel was responsible for the “cliche love stuff”? I mean, he’s not the only one writing and it’s not only his choice. Plus, did it really look so cliche? I mean I hate mushy cliche stuff and the way their relationship was handled was anything but. Of course there had to be focus on their relationship, because that’s what Fringe is about among other things, but it didn’t seem at all like that.
He said the season will be emotional, but hasn’t it always been like that? I think there will be focus on love but also on science, just like it’s always been. This is not just about the sci fi, is about these 3 people living in a sci fi world
So if we know what to expect based on previous seasons, we won’t be disappointed if it goes on almost the same path.
Anyways, I get what you’re saying, but that’s just how I see things
It really bugs me that Jeff left. I mean maybe he just had to, it’s his life, of course, but I really feel he shouldn’t have left us. It’s like he got us all invested and crazy and then bailed on us.
Oh well, let’s have some faith in Joel and the other writers.
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I came here to write exactly what you have.
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I agree with what your saying, im merely apprehensive but will give wyman the benefit of the doubt. What I said in regards to wyman writing all the cliche stuff i got from speculation from other fans on the web.
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I have very mixed feelings about A Short Story About Love. I thought the case was absolutely dreadful – certainly one of the weakest of the season. And it felt forced into the episode for the sole purpose of connecting back to the larger story of Peter and Olivia. But I thought the Peter/Olivia plot itself was done very well. I was quite pleased with the resolution to their story and how it played out in the episode, which is really saying something since, at that point, I was getting quite frustrated with the back and forth “This is my Olivia. This isn’t my Olivia.” He pulled it all together in a really great way. So I don’t think the way he handled the Peter/Olivia relationship has ever been cliche or cheesy. It was one instance of the case being cliche and cheesy. It was the case that held that episode back from being something extraordinary. But I don’t think A Short Story About Love is a terrible episode. It just wasn’t as good as it could have been. And really, I think that was because he was trying too hard, and I don’t think that’s something we need to worry about being a recurring thing in Season 5.
I’m not so much worried about Wyman’s ability to run the show and give it a proper ending – I’m actually surprised that that has been the focus of so many responses to this news. Personally, my reaction was more irritation that Pinkner is leaving. Honestly, I feel a bit betrayed that he is just abandoning the show he has worked on for four years in the final stretch. I can’t understand why he isn’t going to see it through to the end – why he doesn’t want to see it through to the end. I understand that he needs to focus on other projects and pursue other creative ideas to continue after Fringe is over. But there are 13 episodes left. That’s it. This is the end. When you’re so close to the end, what’s the harm in sticking around for another 6 months to see it to completion? Why can’t he continue to primarily run Fringe while developing other projects on the side? I would understand it if the future of Fringe was undecided and it could go on indefinitely and he felt the need to move on. But he knows it’s ending. He has been so involved in the show for four years, and then he leaves in the closing act? It doesn’t make sense and so I’m rather upset with him for leaving just like that.
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I have to wonder if JJ wanted to assign him to another project, now that they know they’ve kept Fringe going for as long as they can (after these last 13.) That’s the only thing I can think of that makes sense.
In any case, Pinkner will be missed. He cowrote “The Arrival” with Abrams, and that for me was the first great episode.
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oh man i forgot he wrote the arrival, my fav episode so far and the one with the coolest observer stuff. oh man now i;m slightly worried.
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they also did in which wwe meet mr jones (and pinkner cowrote another of the best, the road not taken, with orci)
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however wyman has cowritten some awesome eps too
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Personally, I’m not happy at all and share the same concerns as JM does.
Sure, Wyman (co-)wrote fantastic episodes like Peter, White Tulip, Olivia etc. in former seasons.
However, I think he has been to much influenced by twitter for some time. Twitter is basically 90% 13-year old girls who are all over Peter/Olivia’s “love”.
And it reflects in Wyman’s writing, which seems to only care about incorporating Twilight in Fringe and making it as soapy as possible now.
Wyman clearly has lost touch with Fringe’s overall fanbase and viewer demo imo.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I also agree with this. Wyman gets his *o*k sucked on twitter like no other showrunner i have seen.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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You think that POlivia are only together because twitter requested it? It took 15 episodes this season for them to be together. And after that we had 3 scenes with them only in 21 and 22. It’s not like they’ve taken over the show or anything.
I’ve been following Joel on twitter for some time now and I really can’t agree with you. He gets a lot of questions and requests about POlivia yes, but there are so many others who are more interested in other aspects of the show. I think that that’s what’s great about Fringe… it’s not just about the ship, or a certain character or a certain arc, it’s a combination of so many things. It’s really complex.
About POlivia he’s answers are always the same like “u know I’m a shipper” or “there’s no love without drama” or “their love is so powerful they will remember and find each other no matter the time and space” bla bla. Nothing detailed.
But when it comes to other aspects he explains stuff, he gives details that we might have missed. And he always has the difficult task of giving us bad news. SO MANY people all the freakin’ time request old characters to be back (which must be really annoying, cause the characters have their purpose and they couldn’t go on more than they are planned to). He’s always like “no plan for that.” They haven’t come back if there was no plan for it, no matter how much the fans requested it. If he had have listened to the fans the show would have been a disaster.
Personally I like it that he comes by every now and then. It’s nice to see his perspective, what the mind behind the show has to say about some of the story’s developments. Maybe that’s just me.
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You may be right to some extent, but:
If you spend 15 episode for two characters to come together again (something everybody knew would happen eventually) but not a single second with a logical explanation where Peter was (Remember: “Where Is Peter Bishop?” was big last summer) in a season, then I think the focus is completely wrong and there is no balance at all.
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have you read Peter and the Machine yet? (and yes i realize that doesnt excuse not putting what happened in the comic on screen which would have been much better than some of whwat we were shown…)
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Why not have Akiva Goldsman co-write the season with you Wyman?
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I remember reading he develops a series on his own for this year’s TV season (cable, if I remember correctly).
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that sounds good to me
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I’m really sad that he’s gone but I am sure wyman will not dissapoint us.
and we also still have akiva goldsman
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I hope Akiva and J.J. get more involved this year. Didn’t J.J. promise to direct an episode?
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Yes he did, but I’m not holding my breath. It would be cool if he did though.
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That would be awesome. But won´t he be super extra busy with the Star Trek 2 post-production? Unless he takes a two week break and decides to use that time to direct a Fringe episode!
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i hope jj comes back, like season 1 and incorporates Star Trek II’s plot into FRINGE too (the return of Commander Clint Howard?)
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Busy or not (and I have no doubt that he is extremely busy) he did say that if Fringe managed to get renewed for Season 5, “I would say, without question, that if Fringe comes back… I will direct an episode, I will do everything in my power to direct an episode.” And I don’t think that’s him saying what people want to hear, but it sounds like he genuinely wants to be able to direct an episode of Fringe. And I imagine a lot of fans are counting on him to follow through with that promise. And it would be truly awesome if he could make it happen. I would love to see him be able to return to his show in the final season — kind of a coming full circle sort of thing. I’m sure Fringe will still end well, even if he isn’t able to come back and direct an episode. I just think it would be neat if he was able to be involved in that way.
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To be honest I’d prefer to see one of the actors directing.
J.J. hasn’t really to do anything with Fringe since the last third of Season 2.
I wouldn’t say “no!” to J.J. if he wants to direct, but I’d rather see one of the actors, who are still much involved.
I was also wondering if one of the actors might gain a “producer” credt for the last season….my guess would be “no”, but who knows…
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I remember that blair brown said she would like to direct an episode in season 5…I hope she does!
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I think if JJ Abrams directs an episode, it will be one of epic proportions to the storyline. In fact, it would be incredibly cool if he directed the finale.
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Yep pilot and finale sound like JJ’s cup of tea.
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wyman will direct the finale.
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Akiva is working on his movie “A Winter’s tale”. I hope he’ll find time and write for Fringe. I’m sad too that Jeff left and hope that Joel will be able to deliver the best last season. I have to give him the benefit of a doubt.
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I don’t care who writes Fringe, as long as it’s well written. But if they f$#! up Fringe even further, trouble will find them …
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Wow Danielle, you are right on target and it shows by your like numbers.
Fringe has a worldwide fan base, which it would not have if people did not like the P/O story. I enjoyed everything about the P/O story and would like to have seen more, IMO. I wish Mr. Pinkerton best of luck and I know Fringe is in good hands with J.H. Wyman.
I would think at this point the 13 episodes are already written, done, finito!
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wyman said a few days ago that they are halfway through with writing
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Oh, OK, and I believe everything said in any interview, they have been so spot on in the past.
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Wyman said a few days ago that he was by mid-season’s writing. I don’t know if Pinker just leaves now (but he has worked on that first part of the scripts) or we are just being told now. I was surprised that in the first episode’s script draft cover was just Wyman’s name.
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Strange since Fringe used to have the most viewers when there was no P/0. Just saying….
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Meh. Season 1 had the most viewers purely because it was the first season. Pretty much every tv show has declining viewership every season now. It’s why some journalists predict TV dying and NetFlix etc. taking over at some point (I don’t think so).
The only show I’ve seen grow in viewers on a second season for a while is Game of Thrones.
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It also had House as a lead-in when House was one of the biggest shows, and AmIdol in the spring. It’s too bad the show couldn’t stay on Tuesday for its second season, but what can you do?
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I was gunna say S1 had the most viewers cause it was the best but GoT is the opposite, weird. honestly I liked GoT season 1 much better than S1 and I liked FRINGE S1 the best…
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I guess i just like like my mysteries like JJ and his mystery box. some things are better as mysteries (which is how im starting to feel about the observers, lets hope s5 has the greatness to change that).
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I feel like Wyman/Pinkner have probably planned this 13-episode run out for a while now – I’m sure Jeff’s influence will be felt. I’m wondering if he co-wrote the premiere before leaving.
Sad to see him go, but Wyman is good, and there’s plenty of excellent writers on staff right now. I’d be more nervous if this wasn’t the final season, though.
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I am taken aback by the news.
I wonder if Jeff Pinkner is just suffering from Fringe burnout, and needs to recharge his batteries with a new project. He will be missed.
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I bet a week after he leaves he will suddenly think of the best idead for episode and think “dammit!!! I should of been around to write that”:)
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That would so be a Murphy’s Law!
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heyyyyyyyyyy!
dont confuse me with complicated stuff im gonna have to google:)
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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The biggest thing about fringe that frustrated me as a viewer is how peter and Olivia fall in love. Took way to long and with to much tension you loose balance. Not trying to be picky about it but , they can be lovers and we move on to more crazy things besides 2 years of a love story of betrayal trust and rewrite.
I always thought Peter would have a girlfriend outside of the fringe inner circle and it would of been less complicated but now I understand why it had to co exist. Just to many Eps for a resolution and I really wanted peter to go home having a 3rd universe in play temporarily. Walter talks of many extending universes overlapping then to find out peter had been home all long ehhh. I dunno. Not saying it was bad just not the way i wanted it to play out.
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Pinkner being gone reduces THAT Big Three to The Big Two. I wonder what happened to the “seven years of stories to tell.” Good that he will pursue other things. Just…sudden.
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Something else, in JJ Abrams’ statement and what he said about Wyman:
“J.H. Wyman’s importance to Fringe cannot be overstated, however, and I’m thrilled that he will continue as showrunner for the concluding chapters of our story.”
Interesting wording, no?
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Perhaps Jeff didn´t think Fringe would get a fifth season and committed to other projects earlier in the year, and with the confirmation of renewal being relatively recent (late april, if i remember correctly), he probably sat down with joel to plan the final season out, then leave peacefully. It´s still his baby as much as it´s jj´s and joel´s; even if he doesn´t appear as executive producer, his creative input is still directly and indirectly present. And the show is still in good hands.
However, yeah, it´s a little sad. It´s almost as if either Damon or Carlton has decided to leave Lost before season 6 began.
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strangely I always liked wyman better (in interviews and stuff and the things he seemed to place value upon within the show) despite liking pinkner’s episode much better (pinkner and goldsman seemed to be in charge of most of the observer stuff). I hope he didnt leave cause wyman botched the observers and made it all love-y (even though wyman seemed to place more importance on the observers, pinkner always seemed to have really cool ideas about htem and be really enthusiastic in interviews). when I first read this i was pretty happy about it but now im not sure what to think cause we dont really know who used to do what between the two of them and they both seemed to do different things that meshed well — imean i linked the content of pinkners episode better but i liked the execution of wymans episode better). Im excited though regardless of the departure because, even though i know he probably has to say something positive because hes the creator of the show, JJ sounds very optimistic about showing us the final chapter.
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I think the best episodes were written by wyman and pinkner together, they were a really great team.
what I am wondering right now is, if pinkner will still be at comic con?
I think he was/is listed right?!
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“Series stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole and John Noble will join the show’s executive producers for the panel”
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it certainly is kinda lame pinkner left right before the final stretch, kinda fishy, i wonder why he;d do that?
anyway,
BRING US IN MR. WYMAN!
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A ton of speculation here. Wyman came in season one when the show was about to get canceled and it was a disaster. (I think ep 15? IMDB) That’s why he was brought in and everyone who is remotely close to the show knows it. It’s now season 5. Simple math. He is the vision, that’s why JJ Abrams wrote that.
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Akiva goldsman came in at episode 15 season1 didn’t he?
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I’m assuming him leaving this late in the game (late June) means that him and the writers have probably already mapped out where they’re going in the last 13 episodes and this is more of a getting a job before he’s unemployed by Fox kind of thing.
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I hope so….
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That sounds plausible. Didn’t Pinkner say in a Tweet or something that even though he moving onto other projects, we aren’t rid of him that easily, or something along those lines. But yeah, I get the feeling too, that once the overall final bits of story arc got done plus with only 13 episodes, he maybe felt it he go onto to other projects he had in the works. I think my feeling would be different if there was 22 final episodes or Season 5 wasn’t the last. He was after all, really rallying for Season 5.
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