'Heroes: Origins' Delayed, Possibly Canceled?
by
You might chalk this one up to the craziness happening over the past week where the studios and networks are indeed freaking out over the coming strike, despite what some people say about them actually being happy they can reset this failed fall season, with a rumor starting on The Hollywood Reporter today that NBC is delaying introduction of Heroes: Origins from its planned mid-season debut.NBC declined comment, but "Heroes: Origins" is not going to get its six-episode run, which was expected to start as early as late April. While the network hasn't officially canceled the spinoff, producers of the series have been given no indication of when it might get a spot on the schedule.
Sources indicated "Origins" may be just the first of many projects lined up at the broadcast networks in 2008 that will get downgraded as a result of the potential strike, which could severely affect the TV industry.
Tim Kring had lined up some interesting and if not diverse talent to bring us Origins, including writer-directors Kevin Smith, John August, Eli Roth, and scribe Michael Dougherty. This was gearing up to be an epic event, but that was before the second season debuted and things aren't looking quite so rosy now as they did a month ago. I can't and won't speak to individual criticisms of the show - even my own - because those are opinion-based and can't be quantified or relied upon for much of anything.
What can be quantified is that Heroes is bleeding viewers in the most important demographics, though not as fast as shows like Bionic Woman which are desperately looking for help, it's certainly not what was expected to happen. Souring ratings, a slow start, the strike, a new NBC exec, all these things make the possibility of seeing Origins increasingly unlikely.
Leave a comment