Heroes fans can rest easy, as it seems a sure thing that the series will be returning for its fourth season this coming fall. Although there hasn't been an official renewal yet, NBC entertainment president Angela Bromstad was asked by Hollywood Reporter if the series should be considered "on the bubble" for a renewal, to which she answered, "no". She continued, adding that the network plans to order 18 to 20 episodes of the show for next season.
This news comes as a sign of relief, not only to show producers, but to the many fans across the world as well. Heroes has seen its ratings fall 24% since last season, and there has been a great deal of speculation lately on whether the series would return. However, one strong point for the series is how well it does internationally. Bromstad said, "Every single place you go has heard about Heroes — whether you're in China or Japan or Russia. And to me, that is global content."
Another possible factor in the upcoming renewal of Heroes seems to be the NBC pilot project Day One, which is about a catastrophic global event and the group of people trying to survive in its wake (sure sounds a lot like Jericho). If the serialized Day One does get the nod and go to series, having such an established sci-fi drama like Heroes will only help the new show.
"Day One is a big event, and we're looking at that to come into the Heroes spot," Bromstad said. "It's right now being looked at as a 13-episode run — something people could commit to and we could make a big splash with."
This could signal that Heroes' lighter 18-20 episode season 4 (season 1 and 3 were at least 23 episodes) could have fewer interruptions. One option is that Day One would start out the season in Heroes' time slot, and then Heroes would premiere later in the season with fewer breaks. This could be good news for the show, as fewer hiatuses seems to be beneficial to serial programming. The other option for Day One would be to add it to schedule on Sundays.
In Hollywood, nothing is a sure thing until the contracts have been signed, so this is in no way a 100% done deal yet. However, with the president of entertainment coming out and making these kinds of statements, it would take extreme measures to change the outcome of this one. Media speculation can now end, and we can go on enjoying this great show.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
