You'd better enjoy those strawberry milkshakes while you can, Fringe fans. The Fox science-fiction TV series is about to begin its fifth and final 13-episode season, jumping ahead to the year 2036, where the Observers have taken over Earth and the planet's only hope lies in the former members of Fringe Division (of course).
In a recent interview on TV Guide, showrunner J.H. Wyman discussed how Season 5 will pay off for longtime fans and moving the series forward to the world of 2036, last seen in the Season 4 episode "Letters of Transit." He remarked that this episode was similiar to a backdoor series pilot, adding, "We had talked about this being a possibility. We wanted to see how people would react to it and if they would engage with it."
Season 5's main objective, according to Wyman, is to pay off on the relationships of the show's characters. "We've always said the show is this great family drama that is masquerading as this science-fiction show," he said. "For me, [Season 5] is a metaphor for how difficult it is to have a family in this day in age."
Concerning fans getting proper closure on the series' intricate mythology, Wyman remarked, "Another part of the challenge was to bring back things that you've forgotten about, some things maybe you haven't forgotten about, recontextualize them and make the series make sense, and that was a very big part of what I was after," he said. "There's going to be a lot of those [moments] and one specifically that's going to be very impactful, I hope."
"I truly believe that the show has a natural end," he said. "I want to see [fans] get what they deserve to get...I want to feel like what they get has been earned."
Executive Producer J.J. Abrams also weighed in by way of a pre-taped video. "Fringe is a show that I'm enormously proud to be associated with," he said. "Fox has been unbelievable, going far beyond any expectations allowing the show to be on the air. Fringe has always been true to its name -- a little more of an outside-the-box series. [Wyman] has come up with some remarkable stuff, and I think this is going to be far and away the best season yet."
Fringe Season 5 is scheduled to begin on September 28, 2012 at 9 p.m. EST.