The following is all speculation, so do not take it as fact. But according to one source, NBC now seems less likely to renew Heroes for a fifth season, or even for the previously hoped for 13-episode “wrap up” mini-season. Instead, the best case scenario has Heroes fans settling for either a 2-hour or a 4-hour TV event designed to wrap up all the show’s loose ends. At least, that’s according to The Vulture blog.
The article confirms that, despite low ratings, NBC was still very keen on renewing the show for a fifth season. The combination of NBC owning the show, a huge International following and strong DVD sales (not to mention show’s popularity on the Internet via illegal downloads, etc), would seem to indicate that NBC has everything to gain from another season of Heroes. That may not be the case anymore.
…when NBC executives got a look at the new pilots they had ordered (five have already been commissioned as series), they fell in love with their own handiwork; the network felt far better about these new shows’ potential than they did about Heroes’. Even though there’s no guarantee that any of the newcomers will work, there’s a lot more upside to giving a new contender such as J.J. Abrams’s Undercovers the time to find an audience rather than yanking it off quickly and begging viewers to give Heroes one more shot. As a result, according to agency sources and chatter around Hollywood, Heroes has started looking less like a backup plan and more like a waste of money.
Once again, this is all speculation by one blog, and NBC has still kept mum on its decision (if it has already made one) about whether it is renewing the show or not. We’ll just have to wait, but it sure seems a bit silly for NBC to keep quiet through all this. Perhaps they’re trying to gin up manufactured interest in the show’s fate? Or maybe they’re just playing coy.
Whatever the case, one wishes they would just come out and make a damn decision already so we can all move on with our lives.
Update: Deadline adds their own thoughts on what they expect NBC to do (perhaps as early as tomorrow):
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.
So it’s definitely looking like a possible 2 or 4 hour Heroes movie event to wrap up all loose ends.
Heroes blindsided by NBC?
