Heroes fans will get more of the popular series when the story picks up five years from where the original left off in Heroes Reborn this fall. Yet even though the reboot is only set to be a 13-episode event series, it still might not be the end of Heroes, creator and executive producer Tim Kring said at during a TCA panel Friday.
Nothing is currently planned beyond Heroes Reborn, but Kring believes the story leaves the possibility wide open. “I’ve always felt that the brand was elastic enough and a broad enough premise,” he explained. “It’s a show about ordinary people with extraordinary powers.” Because the number of people with special abilities is indeterminate, Kring said they could follow new and old characters to continue the story.
In fact, Heroes Reborn does exactly that. The creative team worked on their storylines before determining which of the original actors would be willing and able to return. “The story was really the thing that dictated who would come back,” said Kring. “I always saw it as a show that could repopulate itself.”
Another change for the reboot will be the 13-episode length. During the original run from September 2006 to February 2010, the show’s shortest season — the second — was just 11 episodes, but the intent was actually for it to be composed of 24. The other three seasons ranged from 18 to 25 episodes.
Kring shared that he actually prefers a shorter season. “The biggest pitfall for us always was the amount of story we had to tell in a year,” said Kring of the original series. “With 13 episodes, it means we can tell this very aggressive form of storytelling — putting 50 pounds of story into a 10 pound bag.”
The two-hour premiere of Heroes Reborn will air on Sept. 24 on NBC.
