Aside from having the old “Dawson’s Creek” co-star in Fringe, I think I’ll start watching this TV series because of good reviews its receiving.

Here’s what we read:

J.J. Abram’s freakish drama gets early second season pickup from Fox; Fringe is top show in important demo.

Fox didn’t have to announce the news that Fringe was getting picked up for a second season today–it’s upfronts aren’t scheduled for another two weeks. But because a return for Fringe was obvious, the network figured why not announce it now and pimp out the series finale at the same time.

“Fringe continues to gain momentum, creatively and with viewers,” said series co-creator J.J. Abrams. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Fringe will continue to freak people out for at least another season!”

Fringe’s storyline has gone into orbit recently, and audiences seem to have responded. The show is the season’s number-one new program in the 18-49 demographic and has solidified itself as a fixture on Tuesday nights.

Fox also announced what Fringe snoops already knew–Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy will be guest-starring in the season finale on May 12. He’ll play a “pivotal person of interest,” according to the network, and if Fringe fans think about it for–oh, two seconds–they’ll know which talked-about character he’s been cast as.

What do you think of Fringe’s pickup? Are you hooked or were you turned off by all the freaky-deaky?