Four years after it was last seen on the small screen, Heroes will next year be making its comeback on NBC with an event miniseries, Heroes Reborn.
The network used the Olympics as a platform to air a teaser promo for the upcoming series over the weekend, going on to announce that the series will be thirteen episodes in length, with original creator Tim Kring back on board to executive produce the project.
Specifics on characters and storylines are of course being kept under wraps for now, but NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke revealed that they haven’t ruled out the possibility of original cast members reprising their roles. However, her choice of phrasing, “popping back in,” suggests that they will be limited to minor appearances.
The thirteen-episode miniseries will be a new stand-alone arc, and could well prove the perfect format to bring the original concept back to life. The first few volumes of Heroes, in particular Genesis, were absolutely fantastic, and were matched by very few TV shows at the time.
As the seasons and volumes wore on, though, they lost a little of their appeal, and some of the later storylines didn’t have quite the same impact as their predecessors.
Nevertheless, Heroes Reborn easily has the potential to be one of the finest things we see on TV next year. If Kring and co. can learn from past mistakes, and really take their time to hone every minute of every episode, we could be in for something really special here.
A new line-up of characters in that same universe, with a whole new set of abilities, ought to be worth watching.
Here’s to hoping that Kring can bring on board the likes of Kevin Smith and Eli Roth, who were previously attached to direct episodes on Heroes: Origins, which was cancelled before it went into production. The two are constantly busy with their respective schedules, but I would love to see them both tackle an episode at the helm for the series’ rebirth.
Firefly fans, relaunch your petitions and campaigns now! There could be hope yet.
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NEW EVENT MINISERIES ‘HEROES REBORN’ COMES TO NBC IN 2015
Tim Kring to Executive Produce 13 New Episodes of Groundbreaking Series ‘Heroes’
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Feb. 22, 2014 — NBC is bringing back its conquering “Heroes.”
An iconic series that still commands a rabid fan base, “Heroes” will return to the network in 2015 as an event miniseries with original creator and executive producer Tim Kring at the helm, it was announced today by NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke.
NBC has ordered 13 episodes for a new stand-alone story arc entitled “Heroes Reborn,” with all details of storylines and characters being kept under wraps.
“The enormous impact ‘Heroes’ had on the television landscape when it first launched in 2006 was eye-opening,” said NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke. “Shows with that kind of resonance don’t come around often and we thought it was time for another installment. We’re thrilled that visionary creator Tim Kring was as excited about jumping back into this show as we were and we look forward to all the new textures and layers Tim plans to add to his original concept. Until we get closer to air in 2015, the show will be appropriately shrouded in secrecy, but we won’t rule out the possibility of some of the show’s original cast members popping back in.”
The original series chronicled the life-changing stories of a series of unrelated ordinary people who discovered they had superhuman abilities. As the saga unfolded, they learned they were part of a grand plan that brought them together to change the world.
heroes-rebornWith the return of “Heroes Reborn,” NBC will launch a digital series prior to the 2015 premiere that will introduce the characters and new storylines. This leveraging of social media is a way for fans to re-engage with what was one for the true pioneers in multiplatform storytelling.
#HeroesReborn
The iconic sci-fi series, which ran on NBC from 2006-10 and was an immediate hit, ranked as television’s #1 new drama with an average audience of 14.5 million viewers during its initial season. The show was Golden Globe-nominated in its first year of eligibility for best drama series; it won the BAFTA Award for best international series, the AFI Award, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Award, two People’s Choice Awards and the Television Critics Association Award for Program of the Year.
“Heroes” remains one of the best-selling TV series on DVD of all time with more than 10 million units sold.
