Heroes: Origins Expands on NBC Hit

While Heroes is Away, the Spin-off Will Play

This fall, NBC plans to give Heroes fans something to keep their mouths wet while it takes a six week break in the middle of its second season. Heroes: Origins is a six episode series, which will be airing in place of Heroes during its mid-season hiatus this fall. Each Origins episode will feature a brand new character, and fans will get the chance to vote on their favorite character, which will become part of the regular cast.

During the first season of Heroes, the ratings dropped a little after the mid-season hiatus, so Tim Kring, the show's creator, was asked to come up with an idea to keep the interest, and ratings, up through the whole second season, and Origins was born. The idea for Origins also stems from the positive fan reaction to many side heroes introduced this season, namely the waitress with a perfect memory who was almost saved by Hiro.

"We've got something I call the 'bulk-up challenge' for next year, which is trying to stay more consistent in our scheduling for the audience," NBC chief Kevin Reilly told reporters on May, 14^th, at a press conference announcing the network's 2007-2008 television schedule. "We asked Tim Kring to come up with an idea, and what I love is not only did we bulk up with 30 hours next season, but also a whole new idea which I think is going to take the show to the next level." While not all scheduling details have been hashed out, Reilly says, "I'll tell you one thing you won't see is 'Origins' peppered throughout, I think that would be difficult for the audience to navigate."

Origins' six episode run, will feature stand alone episodes that take place within the Heroes universe, but will not be directly tied into the main story arc of Volume Two. A few major players from the main show may pop up in Origins, though.