November 3rd, 2008
Producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb Exit Heroes
In what is obviously more signs of NBC’s discontent regarding their expensive show’s declining Season 3 ratings, longtime Heroes producers Jeph Loeb (pictured, top left) and Jesse Alexander (picture, below with Heroes creator Tim Kring) have exited the show. The Hollywood Reporter simply states that Loeb and Alexander have “exited the show because of creative differences” (the catch-all excuse whenever someone is either fired or walks off the set of a movie or TV show), while Variety took it a bit farther, basically saying that the producers were fired specifically because the network was not happy with the direction of the show.
Big shakeup on the staff of NBC’s “Heroes” came down on Sunday with the axing of co-exec producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb.
Both scribe-producers had been with the show since its first season and were known to have led the day-to-day production operation under the direction of creator/exec producer Tim Kring.
“Heroes,” produced by Universal Media Studios, has struggled in the ratings its third season. It’s understood that Alexander and Loeb were let go because of Peacock execs’ frustration with the creative direction of the show. The show is also said to have been grappling with hefty budget overruns this season, that are going well beyond its already sizable $4 million per-seg pricetag.
Obviously NBC couldn’t fire Tim Kring, so it would appear Alexander and Loeb were the scapegoats. Is this going to make Heroes Season 3 automatically better? Um, no. Then again, low ratings notwithstanding, there’s not a whole lot wrong with Heroes Season 3 in my opinion. I think the show’s taking the right paths, getting rid of the right characters, and moving toward an exciting final conflict.
Loeb, who is also a comic book writer, had consulted on genre shows Smallville and Lost before being brought onboard Heroes by Tim Kring. Loeb was responsible for the episodes “Powerless”, “One Giant Leap”, and “Unexpected”. Alexander had also worked on genre shows like Lost and Alias before joining Heroes, and had written the episodes “Eris Quod Sum”, “Truth and Consequences”, “Landslide”, and “Nothing to Hide”.
Update: Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander have made official statements regarding their departure from Heroes. Loeb, who also wrote the fall finale episode “War”, issued this statement to CBR:
“As of today, Jesse Alexander and I have left ‘Heroes.’ I’m incredibly proud to have been a big part of the success a show with eight Emmy nods and a win this year for NBC.com. I will miss the superb cast and writing staff and wish everyone the best.”
Jesse Alexander issued this statement on his blog:
I write this with a heavy heart. As of today I am no longer a writer/producer on HEROES. I could not be prouder of all the work I did on the show and wish all my Heroic Scribbler pals the very best. I will certainly continue to blog at GLOBAL COUCH.
Classy guys, both Jeph and Jesse. Neither one took shots at the show or Tim Kring, even though in my opinion, they would have had all the right in the world to do so. Canning two producers/writers is nothing more than scapegoating on NBC’s part. Like this is going to change anything.
Below: Jesse Alexander, left, and Tim Kring, right, in better times on the set of Heroes.
