The NBC series Heroes is in desperate need of a savior these days. After becoming the break-out hit series when it premiered a couple of years ago, Heroes suffered a few set-backs due in large part to the dreaded Writer’s Strike that plagued Hollywood last TV season. Some shows fell apart and were canceled as a result and some, like Heroes, managed to rally and survive to see another season on the air. Unfortch for Heroes, tho, the series hasn’t managed to regain any of its glory (or it’s huge ratings) since the third season debuted this Fall and, as a result, someone had to pay. Much like it did for Lost back when that show started to suck, Entertainment Weekly published an article dissecting all the things wrong with Heroes that may be keeping viewers away (offering 5 Ways to Fix a Series in Crisis) … one week after that article was published, Variety reports that co-executive producers (and writers) Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb have been axed from the show:
Big shakeup on the staff of NBC’s “Heroes” came down on Sunday with the axing of co-exec producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb. Both scribe-producers had been with the show since its first season and were known to have led the day-to-day production operation under the direction of creator/exec producer Tim Kring. “Heroes,” produced by Universal Media Studios, has struggled in the ratings its third season. It’s understood that Alexander and Loeb were let go because of Peacock execs’ frustration with the creative direction of the show. The show is also said to have been grappling with hefty budget overruns this season, that are going well beyond its already sizable $4 million per-seg pricetag. Reps for NBC and UMS declined comment.
EW.com adds:
Their departure comes at a watershed moment for Heroes, which has taken a serious hit in the ratings amid complaints by critics and fans alike that the show has lost its zeitgeist-tapping appeal. The drama is averaging 9 million-plus viewers this season, down from last year’s 11.6 million average.
Yeah, when a TV series starts to sag in this manner, someone has to pay the price … it looks like the folks calling the shots on Heroes decided to start at the top. I have to admit, my interest level in the series has waned since the show struggled to survive the Writer’s Strike. The storylines have gotten far too complex and there are way too many Heroes running around doing whatever it is that they are doing for me to be able to focus on the larger storyline. All of our fave Heroes are so diluted in all the extraneous new characters that keep getting introduced and keep confusing the storyline that I’m not all that invested anymore in caring for any particular Heroes. I’m not sure if firing the show’s two top producers/writers is gonna save the show but it’s a bold move nonetheless. I’d be all for trimming away some of the newer Heroes and focusing more on the faves. We’ll have to see what effect this shake-up will have on the series in the long run. If they do it right, Heroes can rebound just like Lost did. And let this be a lesson to Hollywood … when Entertainment Weekly talks, y’all better listen.
So … are any of y’all still watching Heroes? Do y’all think that this shake-up will help the show?
RSS
Feedburner
