Fear persists that Fox is hanging "Fringe" out to dry.

But the network claims it's fully behind the show, which stars Anna Torv, John Noble and Joshua Jackson. In fact, where "Fringe" may have suffered against tough competition on Tuesdays, Fox is hoping for a "Blue Bloods" surprise.

That series, which stars Tom Selleck, shocked the industry when it helped prove CBS' assertions that Friday wasn't dead. The series is averaging a 7.0 rating/13 share, a 43 percent improvement over what CBS was doing a year before.

It's the highest-rated show on Fridays by far, and one of the season's best-rated new dramas.

Right now, "Fringe" has watched its audience erode considerably. "Fringe" is averaging a 3.2/5 on Thursdays, according to Fast National ratings from The Nielsen Co. It's down 18 percent in the timeslot from the year before.

If "Fringe" was able to carry its audience to Friday, it would double the audience Fox's only other Friday program this year earned, "The Good Guys." It would, however, compete directly with the low-rated "Supernanny" on ABC, and finish behind CBS' programming, which includes "Medium" at 8 and "CSI: Miami" at 9.