Heroes Rumor of the Day: Did Tim Kring Quit Heroes?

First of all, people need to keep in mind that when I make these “Heroes Rumor of the Day” posts, it’s purely based on nothing but wild speculation on the part of the Heroes fandom universe, and there are no set-in-stone evidence for or against it. I.e. It is, in its simplest form, something I heard in “the grapevine”, and wanted to share with you for the solitary purpose of discussion, and nothing more. Having said that, the latest rumor regarding Heroes is that show creator Tim Kring has “quit” the show.

Don’t get too fluttered just yet. The rumor was floated by someone calling himself “Working AD” who commented on the Artful Writer blog. Here’s what he said:

On another front, I have been advised by a source on “Heroes” that Tim Kring has quit the series. Apparently the network was making him remove storylines that could not be wrapped up in the existing episodes that are now being finished. This caused wholesale rewrites of three episodes over the past week and weekend.

The basis of the rumor, of course, was the news that NBC was reworking the season 2 11th episode, “Powerless” (originally slated for December 3rd broadcast) in case the writers strike was not resolved, and NBC is forced to make “Powerless” the Season 2 finale (more details about that are here).

The comment by Working AD was soon picked up by this Livejournal blog here, which was where I stumbled across it.

So, what are the chances that Tim Kring has really quit the show over NBC’s insistence on making “Powerless” a potential Season 2 finale, and in order to accomodate that, forced him to rework plotlines from other episodes leading up to “Powerless”?

Personally I can’t see that this could be true. Someone like Kring, who has been in TV for a long time now, MUST know how the system works by now, and that in something as extreme as the situation the show is currently faced with (i.e. the writers strike) that concessions must be made. Would he just “quit” the show over NBC’s need to keep Heroes’ second season from coming to an abrupt and “unfinished” (in regards to the current Volume 2) end?

Then again, who thought a strike could shut down half of Hollywood? Strange things are happening in Lalaland these days…

Updated 11/06/07

According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, the rumor is just that — a rumor. It is not true, says DHD:

I can do more rumor-busting. Today urgent emails circulated claiming that Heroes hotshot Tim Kring was “fired” by NBC. A source close to him told me tonight Kring was “stunned” by this rumor. “Couldn’t be farther from the truth. Honestly.” The insider thinks the rumor came from Kring’s decision to honor the strike this week and walk the picket line. “Maybe somehow that came out as some kind of contention with his employers. It’s obviously not aimed at the people at the network and studio with whom he has such a wonderful working relationship. I know how it looks to be picketing your own network and show, but it’s really about making a stand with his fellow writers over what he believes are some very serious issues. Hope that clears it up for you.”