‘Fringe’ Casts Yet Another Recurring Agent, Hedging Its Bets

It feels like it was one scant year ago that I was announcing the 'Fringe' casting of a new, potentially recurring role while the show hadn't yet been renewed by FOX for a fourth season, something of a knock-on-wood gamble considering the show's history.  Wait, that was a year ago, almost exactly?  And now they're doing it again?

While 'Fringe' still awaits a decision for a fifth season, news from TVLine reports that the show has cast Australian actress Georgina Haig for a new, potentially recurring role.  Haig will first appear in the current season's 19th episode as "Etta," a new Fringe agent and partner to the character previously announced to be played by 'LOST's Henry Ian Cusick.

Though it remains largely unclear what universe the pair of agents will work for (initial casting reports suggested the alternate universe, but were since corrected to FBI, a division that doesn't exist "over there) Haig's role is said to be more likely to recur.  Henry Ian Cusick has a commitment to 'Scandal,' ABC's midseason Kerry Washington drama, which would likely preclude his character from staying on.

'Fringe's fourth season picks up on March 23 with fifteenth episode "A Short Story About Love", but so far little is known about 'Fringe's chances for renewal.  In the February TCA tours FOX president Kevin Reilly implied that the series lost money for the network, but recent chatter indicates that a fifth season could be possible if Warner Bros. reduces the licensing fee, and in the wake of FOX's recent cancellations.

What say you, 'Fringe' fans?  Are you optimistic about the show's chances for a fifth season, or have you already observed the future outcome?  Give us your theories on this latest casting and hopes for the 'Fringe' future in the comments below!