'Fringe' Season Premiere to Feature 'The Wire's' Andre Royo

Bubbles is back! Andre Royo, one of the true standouts amongst the universally excellent cast of 'The Wire,' has signed on for a guest role in the upcoming third season premiere of Fox's 'Fringe.'

EW.com reports that Royo will play Henry, a "soulful taxi driver" who enters into a "tense situation" with Olivia (Anna Torv) in the season opener. Is that real Olivia or Otherlivia? That is the question ...
After playing drug-addicted police informant Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on all five seasons of 'The Wire' -- and having his character be one of the finale's happier endings, as Bubbles was drug-free and on his way to a reunion with his family -- Royo has made several memorable TV guest appearances, including playing black hole creator Stephen Canfield on 'Heroes' and serial killer Armando Salinas on 'Criminal Minds,' as well as guest spots on 'CSI: NY,' 'Numb3rs' and the sadly now-defunct 'Party Down.'

Meanwhile, Royo, who recently made a real-life guest appearance at 'The Wire' co-star Dominic West's Irish wedding, along with fellow 'Wire'-d co-stars Wendell Pierce ('Treme'), Sonja Sohn and Doug Olear, also has a slew of big-screen projects on the horizon.

He stars with Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Method Man, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo, Gerald McRaney and fellow HBO alum Lee Tergesen ('Oz') in the 2011 drama 'Red Tails,' about the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous African-American combat pilots in World War II.

Royo also has a starring role in the James Gunn action dramedy 'Super' with Rainn Wilson, Nathan Fillion, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Page and Liv Tyler, as well as the 2011 drama 'Shoedog,' with Wes Bentley, Sam Shepard, Kris Kristofferson, Heather Graham and P. Diddy.

As for the third season of 'Fringe,' what we know so far:

- In addition to Royo, guest stars will include Amy Madigan playing Olivia's mom, and the return of Kevin Corrigan as Sam Weiss.

- Madigan, an Oscar nominee for 'Twice in a Lifetime' and a recent guest star on 'Grey's Anatomy,' is scheduled to appear in at least four episodes.

- The title of the season premiere episode is 'Olivia,' appropriately enough.

More good news for 'Fringe' fans: Not only is the show, which recently won two Saturn Awards, being featured in a panel at San Diego Comic Con on July 24, but the show is also the subject of the new WildStorm comic book 'Fringe: Tales From the Fringe.'