What we thought was going to be another ad for the DVD release of Gravity actually was a teaser for the return of Heroes to NBC. NBC released a few details to the press before the Olympics Saturday night teaser premiere, revealing a new Heroes TV series will be returning in 2015. NBC and creator Tim Kring will be holding the details close to their vests until Heroes Reborn draws closer, but we’re thinking there is no way to move the series forward and call it Heroes without at least Hayden Panettiere as invincible ex-cheerleader Claire Bennet, Milo Ventimiglia as power-borrower Peter Petrelli, Masi Oka as time traveler Hiro Nakamura, or the always awesome Jack Coleman as Claire’s dad, the horned-rimmed glasses guy.
NBC has ordered 13 episodes for the new mini-series, an entire season for any other property. Could this be a try-on that could be continued if the first year is successful?
“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,” Salke continued. “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.”
Masi Oka is currently on Hawaii Five-O on CBS, Hayden Penettiere is on Nashville on ABC, and Milo Ventimiglia is filming a series on the Crackle online network coming off of his Mob City mini-series in TNT. Ali Larter, who played Tracy Strauss and her mirror twin on Heroes, last filmed a mini-series on TNT and continues her string of big screen movie projects, and ex-cop Greg Grunberg is making a string of movies. Although he’s been seen on ABC’s Scandal, Jack Coleman also had a key role in the last season of USA Network’s Burn Notice last year. USA Network is an NBC sister network. Could that mean a possible connection to have Coleman’s character lead the new mini-series? Something like Agent Colson on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Coleman is our top pick, and we think HRG is the most likely driver of a new series. But why stop there?
Then there’s Robert Knepper’s Samuel Sullivan and the carnival gang, which also included Darth Maul’s Ray Park. Might Kring revive that thread of the story? Other big names that appeared in the series include Star Trek’s George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Dominic Keating, Michael Dorn, Malcolm McDowell, Christine Rose, Clint Howard, Louise Fletcher, and, of course, Zachary Quinto as villain Sylar, Veronica Mars’s Kristen Bell and Francis Capra, Shaft’s Richard Roundtree, Doctor Who’s Christopher Eccleston, and even genre faves Bruce Boxleitner and Ernie Hudson–any one of which could be lured back for at least a cameo.
Here is the quick teaser released during the Olympics:
With the return of Heroes Reborn, NBC will launch a digital series prior to the 2015 premiere that will introduce the characters and new storylines. And keep checking back here at borg.com for updates as more information is released by the studio and we get closer to the series release.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com
