Fox has made a series commitment for Fringe, a spooky show from J.J. Abrams (Lost) and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Transformers), Variety reported.
The Warner Brothers-Bad Robot production will start off with a two-hour pilot budgeted at more than $10 million. Abrams, Kurtzman and Orci—the brain trust behind Paramount's new Star Trek movie—wrote the project on spec and shopped it to the networks this week. The trio will executive-produce Fringe along with Bryan Burk (Lost). A search has begun for a pilot helmer as well as a series show runner. Fringe mixes elements of The X-Files and Paddy Chayefsky's Altered States with what Abrams called "a slight Twilight Zone vibe," the trade paper reported. It will focus on brilliant but possibly crazy research scientist Walter Bishop, his estranged son and a female FBI agent who brings them together. Episodes will explore self-contained mysteries of the paranormal, as well as the relationships among the three leads. There'll also be an overriding mythology that will come into play from time to time, as well as a healthy dose of humor. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=44534