One of the most anticipated new shows of Fall 2015 is one that isn’t actually all that new. Heroes Reborn on NBC is a continuation of the Heroes series that ran for four seasons from 2006 – 2010. Unlike many of the other retired franchises being revisited recently, the Heroes universe hasn’t been off of the airwaves for too long, which raised the question of whether or not new viewers would need to go back and bingewatch the original in order to prepare for sequel series. Fortunately for newbies who lack the time to marathon through 77 hours of television, executive producer Tim Kring insists that Heroes Reborn can stand on its own.
In an interview with Collider, Kring had this to say about the connections between Heroes and Heroes Reborn:
I wanted to be really careful and mindful of the fact that we’re going to have a lot of new viewers, and I wanted to make sure that there was an on-ramp onto this freeway that was smooth for them. So, by the time you are done with this 13 episodes, you actually uncover a tremendous amount about the former mythology about the show, but it’s done in an organic way. And these characters that come back, you learn something big, and they’re staggered throughout. Masi Oka’s character, Hiro, comes back several episodes in.
Kring does encourage viewers to go back and binge-watch the series that took network television by storm not too long ago. Although this is a tall order for the sake of a 13-episode reboot, the possibility of continuation is always there. So, it may not be necessary for a Heroes background to enjoy Reborn, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Heroes Reborn will follow the stories of a group of individuals with extraordinary abilities who are blamed for a catastrophic terror attack that destroyed the city of Odessa, Texas. Their paths will cross as they try to escape capture, and the distinctly un-extraordinary protagonist Noah Bennet will delve into what really happened in Odessa, and Jack Coleman as Noah Bennet will be a familiar face to fans of Heroes.
The parent series on which he was a main character was cancelled due to falling ratings after its fourth season had concluded, leaving the show on something of a cliffhanger and certainly without much closure. Of course, the meandering three seasons following the explosive first meant that the cancellation of Heroes wasn’t exactly universally mourned in 2010, but audiences did deserve some on-screen payoff to the final moments of the Season 4 finale. Even though Reborn will not be picking up where Heroes left off or feature the exact same cast of characters, Tim Kring promises that Easter eggs paying tribute to the original will be scattered throughout the reboot for fans.
Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, and Zachary Quinto may not be coming back, but Tim Kring has brought in a promising lineup for Reborn that includes Zachary Levi as a hunter of those with special abilities.
Heroes Reborn will premiere Thursday, September 24 at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
