Production for the fifth and final season of Fox’s cerebral sci-fi drama Fringe has been shut down for two weeks in light of a sleep disorder affecting John Noble’s performance as Walter Bishop. Considering that this is not the first speed bump the show has hit during its attempts to film season five — not long ago Blair Brown (Nina Sharp) was put out of commission by an illness, while Jasika Nicole (Astrid Farnsworth) recently got into a minor car accident– I’m starting to suspect that the Observers are behind this.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 63-year-old star is being treated for a sleeping disorder which has ultimately impacted his acting performance — when Noble was noted as absence during Television Critics Association gathering on Monday, showrunner J.H. Wyman explained that he was feeling a bit “under the weather.” Unfortunately, his condition seems to have taken a slight turn for the worse, and filming will be delayed for nine days, until August 7th.
Thankfully, the fifth season of Fringe is still set to premier on September 28th despite a few production snags here and there. According to Wyman, the new season will revolve largely around the Observers and what will eventually occur in 2036. “Well, let’s say that basically 2036 is extremely important to Season 5. It’s crucial, but having said that, everything that you have seen in Fringe from Season 1 all the way to 4 is really, really, really, really important to what’s going on in Season 5, and 2036 is part of that,” he told Screen Rant, promising that the final season would be a “huge payoff” to fans that have stuck around from the beginning.
We wish John Noble a speedy recovery, and sincerely hope that the rest of filming runs smoothly!
(via Blastr.)
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