Fringe's pilot was directed by Emmy Award-winning Alex Graves ("The West Wing") and produced by Warner Bros. Television, Bad Robot Productions and Fringe Element Films.
FBI agent Olivia Dunham and Peter Bishop are faced with a rapidly spreading unexplained phenomenon of the threatening kind. In an attempt to stop the spread, they enlist the assistance of Bishop's estranged father, the institutionalized scientist Dr. Walter Bishop.
Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson plays the role of Peter Bishop, a smart guy with many gambling debts. Anna Torv (The Secret Life of Us) plays Olivia Dunham, a young, tough FBI agent who has to confront an unexplained phenomenon. Also cast in the series are The Black Donnelly's Kirk Acevedo and Boston Legal's Mark Valley. They play FBI agents. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's John Noble and The Wire's Lance Reddick are also on the cast: Noble as Dr. Walter Bishop and Reddick as Phillip Broyles, a special agent for Homeland Security head of the Fringe division, that investigates terrorist and paranormal events. Alongside them are veteran actress Blair Brown and Take the Lead actress Jasika Nicole. Brown plays Nina Sharp, a 16-year veteran of Prometheus Corp., a cutting-edge research facility, while Nicole plays Astrid Farnsworth, a federal assistant.