How Akiva Goldsman Started Directing With "Fringe"

Dan Lalonde
Jul 14
2 min read

It's always great to work on a show you actually watch. And while I never got to experience working on Sesame Street, I was lucky enough to be on Fringe. It was a fun set to be on. Joshua Jackson would throw footballs with the crew in between takes, the scenes being filmed were always interesting, and the actor playing one of the Observers was friendly. What's an Observer you ask? Picture Donald Trump but bald and no tan who could see into the future.

Fringe for those who don't know was the version of Lost that actually answered every plotline and question that arose. In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter screenwriter Akiva Goldsman talked about how he got into directing with the show.

"I introduced J.J. Abrams to his wife, and I call this favor in constantly, as you will notice by seeing me in several J.J. movies. I said, “I want to direct a television show.” I had directed one episode of something called Kings, and I was like, “Now I want to direct Fringe.” And he was like, “You have to write it. And I said, “I don’t want to write it, I just want to direct it.” He said, “No, you have to write.”

"Jeff Pinkner was running Fringe. And he sent me back to outline nine times because it turns out I had no fucking idea how to write a TV show! Finally, I wrote and directed it. And I stayed three and a half years, and I was like the drunk uncle. I was paid virtually nothing. The job description, it said, “Job requirements: none.” Literally in my deal. But I loved it."

Fringe aired on Fox for five seasons ending in 2013. The closest television show since then to air on the big networks with that kind of mystery style was Manifest, which aired in 2018 on NBC and was saved by Netflix in 2021 after being cancelled. It focused on an airplane that returned after disappearing for five years which was only minutes for the passengers. Kinda like the Republican party in the White House. Comment below with your thoughts.