With ‘Lost’ on Tuesdays, Where Can ‘Fringe’ Go?

Posted by Sam McPherson on November 20th, 2009 - (3) Comments

It’s no secret that the Thursday 9pm timeslot just isn’t working for Fringe. While the show’s sophomore season is receiving absolutely stellar reviews from critics all around, viewership just isn’t up to par with what it was during the show’s first season. That’s mostly due to Thursday’s overcrowdedness — FlashForward, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, and The Mentalist all air on that night. For the entire season, viewers have been calling for a move to Tuesday night for the show.

Then along came ABC and threw a wrench into all those plans. J.J. Abrams’ other series, Lost, is set to return to ABC for its sixth and final season, though it’ll be taking up residence alongside the season’s biggest new show V for the Tuesday night block. That would put it in direct competition with Fringe if it was moved to Tuesdays. Unfortunately, since most of Fringe’s viewership comes from Lost (the two shows share the same creator), that would almost spell certain disaster for Fringe.

But where else can it go to escape the sinking ship its on? FOX’s Monday night is chock full of a winning combination of House and Lie to Me, both of which are certain not to budge. Tuesday’s already been shot down by Lost, and Wednesday’s combination of So You Think You Can Dance and Glee has proven to be good competition against ABC’s Wednesday comedy night. That leaves only Friday for Fringe to go. There’s actually quite a lot of room there — Dollhouse, which has the 9pm slot on that night, has been cancelled, and so has 8pm’s Brothers.

So Fringe might be facing a move to Friday before the season is out if it wants to manage some higher ratings and viewership. Because, if it stays on FOX, there will be nowhere else for it to go, should the need arise.