‘Heroes’ canceled by NBC

It seemed inevitable but the news is nonetheless shocking: NBC’s drama Heroes won’t be back for a fifth season. The beleaguered drama only averaged 6.5 million viewers this year. It last aired on Feb. 8, when it only brought in a mere 4.4 million.

The show never managed to recapture those stellar ratings from its critically-beloved first season, when it averaged a whopping 14.5 million. There has been talk that NBC may air a movie that allows the producers to wrap up the story, but nothing has been set in stone.

Source

‘Heroes’ Canceled?

It looks like NBC might do the one thing Sylar never could: eliminate the “Heroes.”

According to New York Magazine there are indications that “Heroes” will not be brought back for a fifth season. While there have been rumors that “Heroes” would return with 13 new episodes to wrap up the series, the latest report indicates that NBC is very happy with their upcoming programming slate and notes that the network has already placed orders for five new series in the fall.

However, the report also indicates that “Heroes” might return as a two or four-hour movie to give the fans of the series some closure. Although it also mentions that NBC has yet to bring up this possibility to “Heroes” creator Tim Kring.

“Heroes” debuted on NBC in 2006 with impressive ratings and featured Milo Ventimiglia, Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Leonard Roberts and Ali Larter as ordinary people who suddenly found themselves gifted with extraordinary superpowers.

However, the audience began to erode during the second season and continued to fall in subsequent seasons for a variety of reasons. Earlier this year, Kring spoke out about the creative difficulties “Heroes” encountered due to network interference.

“It becomes very hard to kill off certain characters,” said Kring. “The network has a very strong say in this, because of actors who are under contract and do publicity for them. It’s not just up to the writers to decide.”

As an example, Splash Page examined the many deaths of Nathan Petrelli on “Heroes,” when Adrian Pasdar left the series last fall. The final fate of “Heroes” will be revealed when NBC unveils its fall schedule later this month.

Source: MTV.com

NBC (possibly) renews ‘Heroes’ after all(?)

I’m hearing that NBC might give Heroes a short order of 6 to just finish up the storyline of the series next fall. Or else it’s a goner. In any case, there’s zero chance of a 13- or 22-episode pickup.

6:20 PM UPDATE: Now I hear NBC will decide on 3 possible futures for Heroes, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. The most unlikely scenario is a 13-episode order for midseason. (Creator Tim Kring is hoping for this scenario, of course.) A real possibility is that NBC cancels it altogether. But I’m told odds are best that NBC announces “some kind of climactic finale” for Heroes lasting 2- or even 4-episodes (back to back, over one- or two-nights) to air in midseason.

Even though Heroes’ ratings are weak, it is a profitable show for NBC. It brings in the highest international sales of any of NBC’s primetime series. It’s the No. 1 most downloaded show overseas. Plus, it’s a huge DVD seller both domestic and internationally. “What it’s up against is that NBC’s new team is trying to rebrand the network and give it a fresh look with new shows from J.J. Abrams, Jerry Bruckheimer, and David E Kelley,” an insider tells me. “Heroes doesn’t fit in with that. But Heroes is a big brand by itself.” If no decision is made tomorrow, then it’s possible NBC may wait to decide the show’s future after upfronts.

Source: Deadline.com