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''Heroes'' is an American
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television series created by
Tim Kring Richard Timothy Kring (born July 9, 1957) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the drama series '' Strange World'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Heroes'', and ''Touch''. Early life Kring was born in El ...
that aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
for four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover that they have superhuman abilities and how these abilities take effect in the characters' lives as they work together to prevent catastrophic futures. The series emulates the aesthetic style and storytelling of
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s, using multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing narrative. It was produced by Tailwind Productions in association with
Universal Media Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It serves as the networ ...
. It was filmed primarily in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Four complete seasons aired, ending on February 8, 2010. The critically acclaimed first season had a run of 23 episodes and garnered an average of 14.3 million viewers in the United States, receiving the highest rating for an NBC drama premiere in five years. The second season of ''Heroes'' attracted an average of 13.1 million viewers in the U.S. and marked NBC's sole series among the top 20 ranked programs in total viewership for the 2007–2008 season. ''Heroes'' earned a number of awards and nominations, including Primetime
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
s,
Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
,
People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...
, and
British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...
. An online extension of the series, ''Heroes 360 Experience'' (later rebranded as '' Heroes Evolutions''), was created to explore the ''Heroes'' universe and provides insight into the show's mythology. Other official ''Heroes'' media include magazines, action figures, tie-in and interactive websites, a mobile game, a novel, clothing and other merchandise. In the fall of 2008, NBC Digital Entertainment released a series of online content for the summer, including more original web content, wireless iTV interactivity, graphic novels available for mobile viewing and
webisodes A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cabl ...
. A 13-episode follow-up miniseries, '' Heroes Reborn'', premiered on NBC on September 24, 2015.
Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
reported in April 2024 that a new series is in development, reportedly titled ''Heroes: Eclipsed''.


Cast and characters

Kring designed the series to have an ever-shifting cast. However, his motivation changed when he realized how popular the original cast was with audiences; therefore, he brought back most of the first-season cast for the second season, with a few additions who received star billing. In its first season, the show features an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
of twelve main characters making it the third largest cast in American primetime television behind ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...
'' and '' Lost''. Although NBC's first-season cast page listed only ten characters,
Leonard Roberts Leonard Roberts (born November 17, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Sean Taylor in '' Drumline'', Forrest Gates on the fourth season of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and D. L. Hawkins on '' Heroes''. Early life Roberts was born in St. ...
, who first appeared in the series' fifth episode as D L Hawkins, was an additional member of the original full-time cast. In the first-season episode "
Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
", Jack Coleman, who portrays
Noah Bennet This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, was upgraded from a
recurring role Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things: Mathematics and finance *Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure *Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...
to become the twelfth full-time cast member. The following remained major characters during all four seasons: *
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia ( ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
as
Peter Petrelli This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, a hospice nurse with the ability to mimic abilities of other people *
Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere ( ; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher film, slasher Ho ...
as
Claire Bennet Claire Bennet is a fictional character in the NBC psychological thriller superhero drama series '' Heroes''. She is portrayed by Hayden Panettiere and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of the series, "Genesis", on September 25, ...
, a high-school cheerleader who can spontaneously regenerate *
Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's '' Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, ...
as
Hiro Nakamura is a fictional superhero on the NBC superhero drama '' Heroes'' who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation, allowing him to alter the flow of time, teleport and time travel. In the show, he is portrayed by Japanese actor Masi Oka. Ac ...
, an office worker who can manipulate space-time *
Adrian Pasdar Adrian Kayvan Pasdar (; April 30, 1965) is an American film, television, and voice actor. He is known for his roles in ''Profit'', '' Near Dark'', '' Carlito's Way'', '' Mysterious Ways'', ''Desperate Housewives'', '' Burn Notice'', '' Heroes'' a ...
as
Nathan Petrelli ''Heroes'' is an American superhero drama television series created by Tim Kring that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover that they have sup ...
, a congressional candidate with the ability to fly *
Greg Grunberg Gregory Phillip Grunberg (born July 11, 1966) is an American film and television actor known for starring as Eric Weiss in the ABC series '' Alias'', Matt Parkman in the NBC series '' Heroes'', Temmin "Snap" Wexley in '' Star Wars: The Force ...
as
Matt Parkman This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, an
LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
police officer who can read people's minds * Although
Niki Sanders Nicole Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series ''Heroes''. Niki is married to D. L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) and mother of Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey). Niki, a sufferer of dissociative identity dis ...
, played by
Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and former model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She m ...
, was written out in the third season, Larter remained on the show throughout all four seasons, playing Sanders' sister,
Tracy Strauss This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
for the final season. * During the first two seasons, some characters were written out to make room for new characters with new stories. In season one,
Claude Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...
, portrayed by
Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
, who had the power of invisibility, was instrumental in helping Peter understand his powers, throwing him off a building to try to help him fly, but he discovered he healed instead.
Simone Deveaux Simone Deveaux is a fictional character in the TV series '' Heroes''. She is portrayed by Tawny Cypress. Character's background Genesis When Simone Deveaux is introduced in the premiere episode, she is an art dealer living in New York City wh ...
was the first major character to be written out, dying near the end of season one. Hawkins became a guest star after the events of the first season's finale, making two appearances throughout season two. Isaac Mendez was also written out, dying at the hands of
Sylar Sylar (Gabriel Gray) is a fictional character and a primary antagonist of the NBC superhero drama series '' Heroes''. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a super-powered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers. ...
, which was shown during Hiro Nakamura's time traveling expedition to New York earlier in season one. New characters added during season two include: Maya Herrera, played by
Dania Ramirez Dania Ramirez (born November 8, 1979) is a Dominican actress. Her credits include the roles of Maya Herrera in the NBC series '' Heroes'', Alex in the HBO series '' Entourage'', and Blanca during the last season of the HBO crime drama ''The So ...
, a fugitive with the ability to emit a deadly poison;
Adam Monroe This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, a 400-year-old Englishman also known as Takezo Kensei with the ability to regenerate, portrayed by
David Anders David Anders Holt (born March 11, 1981), known professionally as David Anders, is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on '' Alias'', as Adam Monroe on '' Heroes'', as John Gilbert in the TV serie ...
;
Monica Dawson This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, portrayed by
Dana Davis Dana Davis is an American actress and novelist known for playing Monica Dawson on the NBC series '' Heroes'' (2007), Chastity Church on the ABC Family television series '' 10 Things I Hate About You'' (2009–10) and Carmen Phillips on the TNT s ...
, a restaurant worker with the ability to mimic physical movements she sees; and
Elle Bishop Elle Bishop is a fictional character who appeared on the American psychological thriller superhero series '' Heroes'', which aired on NBC from 2006 to 2010. The character was created by series creator Tim Kring and portrayed by actress Kristen ...
, a sadistic
sociopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to st ...
with the ability to generate electricity, portrayed by
Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...
. Two recurring characters from season one,
Sylar Sylar (Gabriel Gray) is a fictional character and a primary antagonist of the NBC superhero drama series '' Heroes''. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a super-powered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers. ...
, portrayed by
Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek ...
, and
Ando Masahashi This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, portrayed by James Kyson Lee, were upgraded to main characters in season two. Starting in season three, recurring character
Angela Petrelli ''Heroes'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Tim Kring that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of o ...
, portrayed by
Cristine Rose Cristine Rose is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama ''Heroes (U.S. TV series), Heroes''. Career She was a regular on the short-lived television series ''Ferris Bueller ...
, was promoted to a main character. Elle, Adam, and Micah were removed from the main cast. Monica Dawson did not appear after scenes including her were cut. Niki was also written out but actress
Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and former model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She m ...
remained on the show portraying a new character
Tracy Strauss This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
, Niki's triplet sister with the power to freeze objects with a touch. For season four, a new character Samuel Sullivan, portrayed by
Robert Knepper Robert Lyle Knepper (born July 8, 1959) is an American actor best known for his role as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox drama series ''Prison Break'' (2005–2009, 2017), Samuel Sullivan in the final season of the NBC series '' Heroes'' ...
, was added. Cast as a recurring part, the part was changed to a starring role.
Deanne Bray Deanne Bray (born May 14, 1971) is an American actress. Bray was born deaf and is multilingual in American Sign Language, British Sign Language, and English. She is also known as Deanne Bray-Kotsur. Early life and education Bray was born in Ca ...
was also added as Emma Coolidge, the deaf woman who had enhanced
synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with sy ...
(seeing colors for music) including the ability to create a siren song.


Episodes


Synopsis

The plot of ''Heroes'' is designed to be told in a way similar to the way comic books are told. Each season of ''Heroes'' contains one or two "volumes". There are several main story lines in each volume. As the main plots develop, smaller, more intimate stories are told within them. Each main character's story is developed separately and as time passes their paths cross and it is explained how their stories are intertwined and connected. This is the story of ordinary people who discover extraordinary super powers after a solar eclipse reveals them, and how these abilities affect the characters' daily lives. The first season, known as "Volume One: Genesis", begins with a seemingly ordinary group of people who gradually become aware that they have special abilities. The story develops showing their reactions to those powers, and how that discovery affects their personal and professional lives. At the same time, several ordinary individuals are investigating the origins and extent of those abilities. Mohinder Suresh (
Sendhil Ramamurthy Sendhil Amithab Ramamurthy (born May 17, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC sci-fi drama '' Heroes'' (2006–2010), Jai Wilcox in ''Covert Affairs'' (2010–2012), Gabriel "Gabe" ...
), a research geneticist, continues his late father's research into the biological source of the powers, while Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) represents, and is a lead agent for, a secret organization known only as "the Company" that wants to control, and if necessary, terminate those who are gifted. After only having a short time to come to terms with their new abilities, each of the heroes is drawn into the final showdown. They must each do their part to stop the destruction of the world that starts with an impending explosion at Kirby Plaza in New York City. Season two, known as "Volume Two: Generations", begins four months after the events at Kirby Plaza. The main plot of ''Generations'' deals with the Company and its research on the
Shanti virus This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
. In a flashback to 1977, the research is performed by the Company's founders, whose identities are eventually revealed, to discover what the effects of various strains of the virus will do to the human and superhuman population. The virus is weaponized and locked away at Primatech Paper, the Company's facility used as a front. Returning to the present, the heroes must come together in an attempt to stop the release of a deadly strain of the virus and avert a global
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
. The first part of
season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...
is called "Volume Three: Villains". Volume three begins with an assassination attempt on Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), a political figure who can fly, and explores its consequences. Meanwhile, several villains escape from the confines of Level 5, a maximum security area owned and operated by the Company within Primatech, and Noah Bennet attempts to recapture them. Arthur Petrelli (
Robert Forster Robert Wallace Foster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), followed ...
), Nathan Petrelli's father, heals from systemic nerve damage and aims to create a formula to give ordinary people superhuman abilities, simultaneously stealing Peter's powers. The second part of season three, "Volume Four: Fugitives", reveals what happens after Nathan fails to produce the formula. After the destruction of Primatech and Pinehearst, the rival company of Primatech, the heroes attempt to lead normal lives until Nathan initiates his plan to round up all people with abilities. He is opposed in that plan by the other heroes, led by Peter, who used the synthetic formula to acquire a new ability where he can only copy one power at a time as opposed to his previous array of abilities. Sylar kills Nathan in an intense duel. However, because Nathan is a prominent political player, Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), who has power over people's minds, is instructed to alter Sylar's mind so that he will believe that he is Nathan and take his place, utilising Sylar's new powers of shapeshifting and psychometry to take on Nathan's appearance while his psychometry would 'fill in the blanks' on other details. This has a negative side effect causing Sylar's consciousness to become trapped in Matt Parkman's mind. Season four contains "Volume Five: Redemption", and takes place six weeks after the events of season three. The heroes try to return to their normal lives; Peter returns to his job as a paramedic, while Claire attends college. Sylar's body is causing his previously acquired abilities to manifest as he struggles with his forced identity as Nathan. Sylar's actual consciousness, trapped in Matt Parkman's mind, taunts Matt and seeks out his own body. Meanwhile, Hiro has to deal with a
brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...
that is slowly killing him and preventing him from controlling his powers. A carnival group is introduced whose leader, Samuel, tries to recruit more people with abilities into his carnival family. Samuel claims he is creating a community for special people where they are welcome to be open with their abilities and respected by outsiders. In truth, he is bringing together as many people with abilities as possible to build up his own power, moving earth. The more special people he has around him, the stronger his power. The heroes have to come together to battle Samuel and his plan to expose "specials" to the world by killing thousands of people. The series finale ends by opening the nonexistent "Volume Six: Brave New World" in which Claire reveals the existence of people with special abilities to a group of reporters and photographers. The series mimics how it started, with the last scene involving Claire Bennet jumping from a
ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...
and stating, "My name is Claire Bennet, and that was attempt number—I guess I've kind of lost count."


Production


Conception

''Heroes'' began development early in 2006, when
Tim Kring Richard Timothy Kring (born July 9, 1957) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the drama series '' Strange World'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Heroes'', and ''Touch''. Early life Kring was born in El ...
, creator of NBC's ''
Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...
'', came up with the show's concept. Kring wanted to create a "large ensemble saga" that would connect with the audience. He began thinking about how big, scary and complicated he felt the world is, and wanted to create a character-driven series about people who could do something about it. Kring felt that a cop or medical drama did not have characters that were big enough to save the world. He came up with the thought of
superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
; ordinary people who would discover extraordinary abilities, while still rooted in the real world and in reality. Each episode of the series cost $4 million to produce. Casting directors Jason La Padura and Natalie Hart brought forth a cast of new faces such as
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia ( ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
, who described the TV pilot as a "character drama about everyday people with a heightened reality." Said heightened reality was brought to light through the work of production designer Ruth Ammon. Kring wanted the series to have touchstones that involved the characters and the world they lived in. Before he began putting his ideas together, he spoke with '' Lost'' executive producer
Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine named ...
, with whom he had worked for three years on ''Crossing Jordan''. Kring credits Lindelof for giving him ideas on how to pitch the series to the network and advice on the lessons he (Lindelof) learned about working on a serialized drama. The two still speak and support each other's projects. When Kring pitched the idea for ''Heroes'' to the NBC network, he described the network's reaction as "excited...very supportive." He comments that he has been partners with NBC for some time based on his six-year run as
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
for ''Crossing Jordan''. When he pitched the pilot, he described every detail, including the
cliffhanger ending A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...
. When NBC executives asked him what was going to happen next, Kring responded, "Well, you'll just have to wait and find out." After the project was
greenlit In the context of the film and television industries, to greenlight is to give permission to proceed with a project. It specifically refers to formally approving its production finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the project ...
, a special 73-minute version of the pilot was first screened to a large audience at the 2006
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
. It was initially reported that this unaired pilot would not be released, but it was included on the season one DVD set.


Writing

When the writing team worked on an episode, each writer took a character and wrote the individual scenes surrounding them. These stories were then combined and given to the episode writer. This system allowed every writer to contribute to every episode, and enabled the writing team to finish scripts sooner, so the filming crew could shoot more scenes at a location. Kring described the writing process as a collaborative one and stated that the collaboration process was important because production needed to shoot several scenes at a single location. To do this, several scripts had to be ready.
Jesse Alexander Jesse Alexander is an American television writer and producer. He was a co-executive producer and writer on ''Heroes''. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Alexander attended Sarah Lawrence College and AFI Conservatory. At Sarah Lawrence, ...
, co-producer and writer, explained that this process was important in a serialized drama because one has to know where each character's development is heading. Season two coincided with the WGA writers' strike, meaning only 11 out of the planned 24 episodes were produced. That forced the producers to redesign the season to encompass only the ''Generations'' volume out of the three planned. The planned third volume, ''Exodus'', which was designed to be a story arc reflecting the effects of the release of strain 138 of the Shanti virus, was cancelled. The planned fourth volume, ''Villains'', was changed to the third volume and moved into season three. Scenes from the volume two finale, " Powerless", were reshot to reflect the cancelation of the ''Exodus'' volume, and to tie up all the loose plot storylines of ''Generations''. Following criticisms of the second and third volumes, Tim Molloy from ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' reported that ''Heroes'' would return to its roots with the fourth volume, ''Fugitives'', to attract new viewers and regain those who gave up on the show because of too many characters and plotlines. In November 2008, NBC fired Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb from the production staff of ''Heroes'' over creative differences and budget problems. As a result, Kring would refocus the series on character development and simple storytelling. However, a high-ranking insider told ''TV Guide'' that rather than pressure from NBC or Universal Media responding to recent plummeting ratings, it was Kring himself who fired Alexander and Loeb, because the duo refused to continue character-driven stories that made the first season popular from the start. In December 2008,
Bryan Fuller Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the television series ''Pushing Daisies'' (2007–2009) and ''Hannibal (TV series), Hannibal'' (2013–2015). Fuller is also known for his work as a writ ...
signed a two-year deal with
Universal Media Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It serves as the networ ...
after the cancellation of his
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
series ''
Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to lif ...
''. He rejoined the writing staff of ''Heroes'' starting with the 20th episode of season three and had a "key role in the writing and direction" of the series. On June 22 it was revealed that Fuller left ''Heroes'' to work on other projects. On April 28, 2009, director/producer
Greg Beeman Greg Beeman (born 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American film and television director and producer and winner of the Directors Guild of America award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. He is known for his work on the television series ' ...
was fired by NBC.


Music

The series score is composed by
Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...
and Lisa Coleman, with music engineer Michael Perfitt and vocals provided by Shankar. Each episode averages 30–35 minutes of music. Melvoin and Coleman became involved with ''Heroes'' from their previous work with executive producer
Allan Arkush Allan Arkush (born April 30, 1948) is an American director and producer of films, television and videos. He is a regular collaborator with Joe Dante. Early life Arkush grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He graduated in 1966 from Fort Lee High ...
. Kring gave general instructions to the pair, including the emotion and direction for each character. Kring wanted incredibly unusual music and gave Melvoin and Coleman a lot of freedom and permission to experiment. In the pilot episode, Kring suggested that a "dreamy" cue be used in the scene involving
Claire Bennet Claire Bennet is a fictional character in the NBC psychological thriller superhero drama series '' Heroes''. She is portrayed by Hayden Panettiere and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of the series, "Genesis", on September 25, ...
running into a burning train. The "dreamy" cue became a signature piece of the show. Melvoin and Coleman developed musical cues for each character.
Claude Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...
's theme involved wind and voices to create the feeling of a ghost-like presence.
Sylar Sylar (Gabriel Gray) is a fictional character and a primary antagonist of the NBC superhero drama series '' Heroes''. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a super-powered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers. ...
's involves
marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...
s and
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s with
staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of Articulation (music), musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and ...
to re-create the sound of clocks ticking in reference to the character's power.
Matt Parkman This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
's theme involves voices being played backwards when he uses his power of
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
.
Peter Petrelli This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
's theme involves
marcato ''Marcato'' (short form: Marc.; Italian for ''marked'') is a musical instruction indicating a note, chord, or passage is to be played louder or more forcefully than the surrounding music. The instruction may involve the word ''marcato'' itself w ...
strings.
Niki Sanders Nicole Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series ''Heroes''. Niki is married to D. L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) and mother of Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey). Niki, a sufferer of dissociative identity dis ...
's theme was based on her character's alter-ego Jessica and involved winds and Indian voices chanting in an underscore to give a feeling that she was possessed.
Mohinder Suresh Mohinder Suresh is a fictional character on the NBC drama '' Heroes'' who is portrayed by actor Sendhil Ramamurthy. He is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and is a genetics professor at the University of Madras. Mohinder is attempting to find the ...
's theme is the piano composition that plays at the end of some episodes. In 2007, the
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit Performance rights organisation, performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' ...
gave Melvoin and Coleman the Top Television Series award for their work on ''Heroes''. In France, the
theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
of ''Heroes'' is composed by Victoria Petrosillo. Her song, "Le Héros d'un autre", is used by television network
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...
to replace the show's original incidental music. The network created a new opening credit sequence so they could play Petrosillo's theme. The official ''Heroes'' soundtrack was released on March 18, 2008, by The NBCUniversal Television, DVD, Music & Consumer Products Group. On February 29, 2008, the Group released five music videos created by Heroes producer/director
Allan Arkush Allan Arkush (born April 30, 1948) is an American director and producer of films, television and videos. He is a regular collaborator with Joe Dante. Early life Arkush grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He graduated in 1966 from Fort Lee High ...
, each combining show footage with songs from the soundtrack. In September 2008, Melvoin and Coleman announced that they would be releasing '' Heroes: Original Score'', an album consisting entirely of the score from ''Heroes''. It was released on April 14, 2009, by La-La Land Records.


Filming and visual effects

Eric Grenaudier and John Han of Stargate Digital are the
visual effects supervisor In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the pr ...
s and Mark Spatny is the visual effects producer for ''Heroes''. They work with visual effects animators Anthony Ocampo and Ryan Wieber, who are also from Stargate. The series
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...
consist of blue screens and 2D and 3D animation. The visual effects for the series are created after the scene is shot in post-production, unlike special effects, which are incorporated into the scenes during filming. Notable visual effects include radioactive Ted in "
Company Man Company man is a term for the loyal employee of a large corporation that was in use from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. It was often used to describe an individual who had worked for the same company for their entire careers, and ...
",
Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...
flying from Mr. Bennet and The Haitian in "
Hiros "Hiros" is the fifth episode of the Heroes season 1, first season of the American Superhero fiction, superhero Drama (film and television), drama television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes''. The episode was written by co-executive pr ...
", and Hiro's time freezing encounter with the schoolgirl in the red bow in " One Giant Leap". The special effects were coordinated by Gary D'Amico. Stunts were coordinated by Ian Ouinn, who also used blue screens to accomplish some of the stunts in the series, such as Nathan Petrelli flying away from Heidi during the car accident scene in " Six Months Ago". Principal filming for ''Heroes'' occurred in Los Angeles and
Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...
. The Stargate Digital team were responsible for making Los Angeles look like international locations, such as India and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, using blue screens and set designs by Ruth Ammon, production designer for the series. The series was recorded using a
single-camera setup In filmmaking, television production and video production, the single-camera setup or single-camera mode of production (also known as portable single crew, portable single camera or single-cam) is a method in which all of the various shots and c ...
. In keeping with the comic book thematic elements used on ''Heroes'', professional comic book artists Tim Sale and
Alex Maleev Alex Maleev (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Алекс Малеев) is a Bulgarian comic book illustrator, best known for the Marvel Comics' series ''Daredevil (Marvel Comics series), Daredevil'' (vol. 2) with frequent collaborator Brian Michael ...
were brought in to provide the artwork used within the series under the direction of Ruth Ammon, including the artwork of
Isaac Mendez ''Heroes'' is an American superhero drama television series created by Tim Kring that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover that they have supe ...
, and Mendez's
metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...
al comic book series, ''9th Wonders!''. Additionally, the
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
used in captions and credits for the show is reminiscent of traditional hand-rendered comic book lettering. It was created by Sale and is based on his handwriting style. ''Heroes'' was designed by
production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...
Ruth Ammon. Ammon was nominated for her work on ''Heroes'' twice by the
Art Directors Guild The Art Directors Guild (ADG; IATSE Local 800) is a labor union and local of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) representing 3,278 motion picture and television professionals in the United States and Canada. The ...
and nominated for two Emmy Awards for excellence in art direction.


''Heroes: Origins''

On May 14, 2007, NBC announced that it would air a six-episode ''Heroes''
spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
, ''Heroes: Origins'', during the 2007–08 season. The show was to introduce a new character each week, and viewers were to select which one would stay for the following season of the regular series. The show was supposed to air after the completion of the second season of ''Heroes'' in April 2008; however, on October 31, 2007, it was reported that ''Origins'' had been postponed because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Kring stated in an interview that the first episode of ''Origins'' was to reveal the secrets and meanings behind the Helix symbol. Because of the WGA Strike, Kring commented that the secret will have to be revealed down the line. Kring revealed that he was to write the first episode of ''Origins'', and that
John August John August (born August 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is known for writing the films '' Go'' (1999), '' Charlie's Angels'' (2000), '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), '' Big Fish'' (2003), '' ...
had been hired to write another episode. Director
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
, a fan of ''Heroes'', was set to write and direct an episode for the spin-off, as were
Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, namely splatter films, having directed the films ''Cabin Fev ...
and
Michael Dougherty Michael Patrick Dougherty (born October 28, 1974) is an American writer, director, animator, and producer known for his work in a variety of genre films, both big and small. Beginning his career as an animator and illustrator, Dougherty’s a ...
. On April 3, 2008, a day after NBC announced its 2008–2009 primetime schedule, Ben Silverman confirmed ''Origins''s cancellation.


Mythology

''Heroes'' includes some mysterious fictional recurring elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
phenomena. Kring and the creators of the series referred to these fictional elements as part of the
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
of the series. Kring confirmed that although the show has a unique mythology, he did not want to sink too deeply into it. Rather, Kring used volumes to wrap up ongoing plot lines instead of carrying storylines over long periods of time as in ''Lost''. Among the show's mythological elements are the Company, the legend of Takezo Kensei, paintings of the future, superpowers and their origins, the Shanti virus, ''9th Wonders!'' comic book, and numerous other elements and mythological themes.


Response


Critical reception

Season one received highly positive reviews. During the season, the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
named ''Heroes'' one of the ten "best television programs of the year." Doug Elfman of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' stated, "the show's super strengths are its well-developed filmmaking, smooth pacing and a perfect cast. It views like the first hour of a fun, thoughtful movie." Barry Garron at ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' also stated, "''Heroes'' is one of TV's most imaginative creations and might, with luck, become this year's ''Lost''." Less favorable reviews included ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'', who commented that although the show had lots of "cool effects," it "lands, splat, in a pile of nonsense and dim dialogue." In response to the first pod of season one episodes, The ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' went as far as saying, "you could watch the first few episodes of ''Heroes'', or you could repeatedly hit yourself on the head with a brick. The effect is surprisingly similar." At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the ''Heroes'' pilot received a 67/100, with generally favorable reviews from critics. The show was declared the fourth highest rated show for the first ten years of
IMDbPro IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
(2002–2012). Season two received generally positive reviews, but was criticized by commentators and fans for a much slower pace, less engaging storyline and lack of focus compared to the first season.
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia ( ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
stated that "when there's a little bit of a delay, there's not that instant, rewarding scene or moment or episode... people get impatient, so it has been extremely important for them to strike a balance between giving and getting." In an interview with ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', ''Heroes'' creator Tim Kring commented on criticisms of season two, and the series' 15% decline in ratings. Kring said that he felt he had made mistakes with the direction of season two. He had thought that the audience was looking for a "build-up of characters and the discovery of their powers", when viewers were instead looking for "adrenaline." Kring also outlined what he felt were problems with plot development, stating that season two "took too long to get to the big-picture story", explaining that
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
's vision of the viral
armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
should have occurred in the first episode instead of the seventh. He feels that it would have been better to introduce new characters within the context of the main storyline, as with
Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...
, rather than in unattached arcs such as that of
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
and Alejandro. Kring also admitted that he should have resolved the "Hiro in Japan" storyline much more quickly, and that the romantic stories were not working well. With regard to Claire and West, and Hiro and Yaeko, he said, "I've seen more convincing romances on TV. In retrospect, I don't think romance is a natural fit for us." For season 3, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' said "Even just a half-hour in, it's difficult not to wish everyone would just lighten the heck up. The graphic novel noir feel is becoming increasingly oppressive, and everyone is just so grim." ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' wrote "This show, which was once so thrilling and fun, has become full of itself, its characters spouting crazy nonsense."


Awards and nominations

By the time ''Heroes'' completed the first half of the first season, the show had already collected an assortment of honors and accolades. On December 13, 2006, the
Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...
nominated the program for "best new series" of 2007. On December 14, the
Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who reported on the American entertainment industry for predominantly foreign media markets. It is best known for founding and conduc ...
nominated the program for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for Best Television Drama, and nominated
Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's '' Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, ...
(
Hiro Nakamura is a fictional superhero on the NBC superhero drama '' Heroes'' who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation, allowing him to alter the flow of time, teleport and time travel. In the show, he is portrayed by Japanese actor Masi Oka. Ac ...
) for Best Supporting Actor on a TV Series. On January 9, 2007, ''Heroes'' won the award for Favorite New TV Drama at the
33rd People's Choice Awards The 33rd People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2006, were held on January 9, 2007 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Queen Latifah and broadcast on CBS. Nominations and winners Th ...
. The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
nominated ''Heroes'' on January 9, 2007, for an Image Award in the "Outstanding Drama Series" category. On February 21, 2007, ''Heroes'' was nominated for five
Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
. The nominations included "Best Network Television Series", "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" for both
Greg Grunberg Gregory Phillip Grunberg (born July 11, 1966) is an American film and television actor known for starring as Eric Weiss in the ABC series '' Alias'', Matt Parkman in the NBC series '' Heroes'', Temmin "Snap" Wexley in '' Star Wars: The Force ...
and
Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's '' Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, ...
, and "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" for
Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere ( ; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher film, slasher Ho ...
and
Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and former model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She m ...
. On February 22, 2008, it was announced that ''Heroes'' was again nominated for five Saturn Awards. The nominations for 2008 include "Best Network Television Series," "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" for both Greg Grunberg and Masi Oka, "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" for
Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere ( ; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher film, slasher Ho ...
, and "Best Television Series on DVD." The 2008 nominations are similar to the 2007 nominations, except Ali Larter was not nominated this year; instead the ''Heroes'' Season one DVD was nominated, in a different category. On July 19, 2007, the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...
announced their nominations for the 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Heroes'' was nominated in eight categories, including Outstanding Drama Series. The first episode, "
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
", earned six nominations: Outstanding Directing (
David Semel David Semel is an American film and television director and producer. Semel joined the Directors Guild of America in 1989. His television directing credits include ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'', ''Person of Interest'', ''Ally McBeal'', ''Bo ...
), Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The episode " Five Years Gone" also received a nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series.
Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's '' Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, ...
was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. On September 16, 2007, the
59th Primetime Emmy Awards The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 2007, honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ED ...
were held and ''Heroes'' failed to win a single Emmy award despite the eight nominations. On July 21, 2007, the
Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...
awarded ''Heroes'' with the prestigious Outstanding Program of the Year title during their 23rd Annual
TCA Awards The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer towards the end of the organization's summer press tour. Due to ...
ceremony. The cast of ''Heroes'' was named in the 2006 ''Time'' magazine's Person of the Year issue under "People Who Mattered".


Ratings

The pilot episode generated 14.3 million viewers, with the season high topping out at 16.03 million viewers for
episode 9 Episode Nine, Episode 9 or Episode IX may refer to: * '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'' also known as ''Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker'', a 2019 film * "Episode 9" (''Twin Peaks'') See also * Episode 8 (disambiguation) * Ep ...
. When the series returned from hiatus on January 22, 2007, the ratings averaged about the same as the pilot with 14.9 million viewers. When the show went on a second hiatus during the first season, from March 4, 2007, to April 23, 2007 (7 weeks), ratings hit a new low; the lowest being 11.14 million viewers during part one of the three part finale, " The Hard Part." In season two, the opener gained the highest rating of the entire series, however, week-by-week, the ratings declined, reaching another new low for the series on episode seven, " Out of Time", with only 9.87 million viewers. Although the ratings were lower than average, this episode was considered to be a turning point for the declining season, as a major plot twist was introduced and the volume's "big picture storyline" was presented. The season two/volume 2 finale generated 11.06 million viewers in the ratings, down more than 3 million viewers from the season opener and series pilot. While the show premiered with high ratings, ratings slowly diminished throughout its run. The first episode of season two was the highest viewed, whereas each successive season had fewer viewers than the one preceding it. Season three of ''Heroes'' started with strong ratings that dropped steadily throughout the season. The season's finale placed last in its timeslot. The season four premiere of ''Heroes'' was the lowest rated episode of the series to that point, averaging 5.9 million viewers. Despite the season's low ratings, executive producer Tim Kring was "fully expecting" a fifth season. However, while creator Kring was hopeful over the show's future, many media insiders were not so confident. There was growing speculation on some news sites that NBC would cancel the series at the conclusion of its fourth season or that it might renew the show for a fifth and final season by ordering either 6 or 13 episodes and possibly airing them as a backup or mid-season replacement. On May 14, 2010, NBC made it official that ''Heroes'' was indeed cancelled.


Promotions and fandom

Following the debut of ''Heroes'' in 2006, the
tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...
''Save the Cheerleader, Save the World'' was recognized within the television industry as an effective marketing device. In 2006, NBC also created a ''Heroes'' parody titled ''Zeroes''. ''Zeroes'', which was released as a
viral video Viral videos are video, videos that become popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, primarily through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhon ...
on sites including YouTube, features parodies including four chapters and an open audition. Development and production of the project was kept secret from Kring. NBC hosted panels at the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
to promote the series. Major announcements have been made during the panel, along with sneak peeks of forthcoming seasons. In 2006, the ''Heroes'' panel presented the entire season one 72-minute pilot. In 2008 the first half of the season three premiere was shown. Comic-Con also allows the cast and crew to answer questions from the press and from fans. On July 21, 2007, Kring announced that cast and crew members of ''Heroes'' would travel the world for the ''Heroes World Tour'' to promote the season one DVD release and the forthcoming season two. The tour took place in North America (New York and Toronto), Asia (
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, Tokyo, and Hong Kong) and Europe (
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Paris and London). The tour began on August 26, and ended on September 1, 2007. The post-hardcore bands
Alesana Alesana ( ) is an American post-hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The group was founded by Shawn Milke, Dennis Lee, Patrick Thompson, Steven Tomany and Daniel Magnuson during the fall of 2004, and is currently signed to Revival Record ...
and
I See Stars I See Stars are an American electronicore band from Warren, Michigan formed in 2006. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Devin Oliver, guitarist Brent Allen, keyboardist and co-vocalist Andrew Oliver, and bass guitarist Jeff Valentine. ...
have both respectively named songs after the show, "This Is Usually the Part Where People Scream" and "Save the Cheerleader".


Distribution


Home media

The first DVD release of ''Heroes'' was a sampler disc, containing only the first episode, and was released in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and the UK on September 3, 2007. UK Region 2 split ''Heroes'' into two-halves on its initial release; part one being released on October 1, 2007, and part two on December 10, 2007. When the second part was released, a complete first season boxset was also released on the same day on both DVD and HD DVD formats The complete first season DVD includes nearly 3 hours of bonus features including: an extended 73-minute version of the pilot episode with audio commentary; 50 deleted and extended scenes; behind the scenes featurettes, including the making of Heroes, stunts, a profile of artist Tim Sale, and the score; and audio commentaries with cast, crew and Kring. On February 22, 2008, the ''Heroes'' Season One DVD was nominated for a 2008
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
, in the category of "Best Television Series on DVD." The complete first season was released in USA and Canada on August 28, 2007. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on September 17, 2007.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...
and
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
has announced that the first and second seasons would be released on Blu-ray on August 26, 2008, the same date as the DVD release of the second season. Specifications and bonus features include: Generations Alternate Ending; Inside the Alternate Ending: What if Peter didn't catch the virus?; untold stories that didn't make it on air; Season three sneak peek; deleted scenes; a documentary on Takezo Kensei; behind the scenes featurettes; NBC.com featurettes; and audio commentaries with cast, crew and show creator Tim Kring. The complete second season was released on July 28, 2008, in the UK. Season 2 was released on October 1, 2008, in New Zealand and Australia. The Season 3 DVD Box set was released in North America on September 1, 2009, and in Australia on September 2, 2009, with an alternative cover, and in the UK on October 12, 2009. The Season 4 DVD Box set was released on August 3, 2010, in the US and on October 4, 2010, in the UK. The Complete Series DVD Box set was released on November 16, 2010, in the US.


International

In Canada, ''Heroes'' episodes run concurrently with the NBC first-run on the
Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...
, Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. A
Canadian French Canadian French (, ) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec French and the closely re ...
-dubbed version of season one also airs on
TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
, Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. and two episodes of season two on Mystère (addikTV), Mondays at 8:00 p.m. The first season aired in Australia on the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. The series debuted strongly, attracting more than 2 million viewers in five of the capital cities. To keep viewer numbers high the Seven Network began showing the second season on Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. across all areas, a week after the US screening. The third season began airing on October 9, 2008, and Volume 4 began airing on April 23, 2009. Because of low ratings, it was pushed back half-an-hour to 11:00 p.m. after ''
Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...
'' and the season concluded July 9, 2009. The
Sci-Fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
(available through
Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
, Optus TV and
Austar Austar was an Australian telecommunications company founded in 1995 as Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones. Austar's tel ...
) screened season two re-runs in late 2009. From June 2010, season three is screening on the Sci-Fi Channel in Australia. Season four aired, approximately one month behind the US, on Seven's new digital channel 7Two, on November 4, 2009, at the new time of Wednesdays 8:30 p.m. It started with the double premiere and had double episode runs instead of one episode a week, until it caught up to the US, after that it began to air episodes once a week at 8:30 p.m. It currently airs on Thursdays 9:30 p.m. on 7Two. In the United Kingdom, the series first aired on February 19, 2007, on
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
channel Sci Fi UK. The series averaged 450,000 viewers, which is almost four times more viewers than those of other programs on Sci Fi UK. The series was then picked up by the BBC, which gave season one its
terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...
premiere from July 25 to December 5, 2007, on BBC Two. Season two of Heroes first aired from April 24 to July 3, 2008, on BBC Two, attracting around 3.7 million viewers. Season three began on October 1, 2008, and gained 3.81 million viewers. Season four began on January 9, 2010, but viewership as of February 8 had declined to just 0.74 million. In Indonesia, Season 1 aired on
Trans TV PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
on weeknights starting from January 31, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. WIB. All subsequent seasons aired on
Trans7 PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
on Wednesdays starting from August 6, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. WIB.


Merchandise

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
announced that they had licensed the rights to produce a ''Heroes'' video game; however, the company later chose to give the rights back to
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
.
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game company based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games for mobile devices, video game consoles, and ...
released the first ''Heroes'' mobile game on October 5, 2007. It consists of 8 levels and playable characters include
Hiro Nakamura is a fictional superhero on the NBC superhero drama '' Heroes'' who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation, allowing him to alter the flow of time, teleport and time travel. In the show, he is portrayed by Japanese actor Masi Oka. Ac ...
,
Niki Sanders Nicole Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series ''Heroes''. Niki is married to D. L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) and mother of Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey). Niki, a sufferer of dissociative identity dis ...
and
Peter Petrelli This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
. Each week, NBC released a ''Heroes'' webcomic. The comics gave additional character background and plot information not shown in the television episodes. The graphic novels continued on a weekly basis during the show's 2007 summer hiatus.
Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...
, a subsidiary of
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, released them in published form on November 7, 2007. The first collected volume included novels 1–34, and featured two different covers by
Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...
and
Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...
as well as an introduction by
Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's '' Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, ...
and artwork by Tim Sale. The second volume included 35–80. It has an advertisement for a third volume, that would at least have 81–103, and more, and it was scheduled for fall 2009. For unknown reasons, the third volume has not been released. On December 26, 2007, the only ''Heroes'' novel was published, titled '' Saving Charlie''. Written by Aury Wallington, who wrote the book with the full cooperation of the ''Heroes'' writing staff, the novel revolves around the relationship of
Hiro Nakamura is a fictional superhero on the NBC superhero drama '' Heroes'' who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation, allowing him to alter the flow of time, teleport and time travel. In the show, he is portrayed by Japanese actor Masi Oka. Ac ...
and Charlie Andrews, when Hiro went back in time six months to attempt to save her.
Titan Magazines Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...
released the first issue of ''Heroes Magazine'' on November 20, 2007. It is the first of a series of six, slated to be released
bi-monthly {{Short pages monitor