An American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. It premiered on the Fox Broadcasting network on September 9, 2008. The series follows Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), and Walter Bishop (John Noble), members of a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security. The team uses "fringe" science and FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences, which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe. The series has been described as a hybrid of The X-Files, Altered States, and The Twilight Zone.

The series format combines elements from procedural dramas as well as those found in serials. The series began as a more traditional "mystery of the week" series, and became more serialised in later seasons. A majority of episodes contain a standalone plot, with several episodes also exploring the series' overarching mythology.

Early critical reception of the first season was lukewarm but became more favourable in subsequent seasons, when the series began to explore its mythology, including parallel universes and alternate timelines. The show, as well as the cast and crew, has been nominated for many major awards. Despite its move to the "Friday night death slot" and low ratings, the series has received a cult following. The series has been renewed for a fifth and final season consisting of 13 episodes, which premiered on September 28, 2012. The series has also spawned two six-part comic book series and an alternate reality game.

The series will conclude on January 18, 2013, with a two-hour series finale.

Fringe follows the casework of the Fringe Division, a Joint Federal Task Force supported primarily by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which includes Agent Olivia Dunham; Dr. Walter Bishop, the archetypal mad scientist; and Peter Bishop, Walter's estranged son and jack-of-all-trades. They are supported by Phillip Broyles, the force's director, and Agent Astrid Farnsworth, who assists Walter in laboratory research. The Fringe Division investigates cases relating to fringe science, ranging from transhumanist experiments gone wrong to the prospect of a destructive technological singularity to a possible collision of two parallel universes. The Fringe Division's work often intersects with advanced biotechnology developed by a company called Massive Dynamic, founded by Walter's former partner, Dr. William Bell, and run by their common friend, Nina Sharp. The team is also watched silently by a group of bald, pale men who are called "Observers".

Season 1 introduces the Fringe Division as they investigate cases that form "the Pattern", many of which orchestrated by an international network of rogue scientists known as ZFT (Zerstörung durch Fortschritte der Technologie, or in English, Destruction through Advancement of Technology), led by David Robert Jones, who are preparing for a doomsday event. The ZFT threat appears to end when Peter kills Jones as he attempts travel to a parallel universe. Olivia comes to learn she was a child test subject for Walter years ago for a nootropic drug, Cortexiphan, giving her weak psionic abilities. Walter also struggles with adjusting to normal life in Peter's care after living seventeen years in a mental institution while hiding the fact that Peter is from the parallel universe, "his" Peter having died as a child.

In Season 2, the occurrences are found to be in conjunction with activities of a parallel universe, which is plagued by singularities occurring at weakened points of the fabric between worlds; over there, scientists have developed an amber-like substance that isolates these singularities as well as any innocent people caught in the area on its release. The Fringe team deals with more cases that are leading to a "great storm" as the parallel universe appears to be at war with the prime one, engineered by human-machine hybrid shapeshifters from the parallel universe. Walter is forced to tell Peter that he is from the parallel universe, a replacement for his own Peter that died from a genetic disease. Walter had crossed over on the frozen ice of Reiden Lake in 1985 to administer the cure for the alternate version of Peter, but, after destroying a dose of the cure upon transport, he instead brought the boy across; on return, they fell through the ice but were saved by the Observer September, reminding him of the importance of Peter. Walter's crossing is what caused the singularities in the parallel universe, with Reiden Lake at their epicenter.