Tim Kring says the network has a lot of say in the creative direction and he would have wanted only 13 episodes per season if he had been given the chance.
- May 14, 2010
AceShowbiz - While NBC is still weighing the option whether "Heroes" deserves to be renewed or not, creator Tim Kring has decided to reveal why the show is going through a steady decline in rating. Kring blamed the Peacock for having too much interference as far as the plot goes, causing the writers to sacrifice some of their creative ideas.
"Heroes" was once the most watched program on NBC, pulling an average of 13 million per week. That is before it dropped significantly in the third season and further in the fourth season which averaged under 5 million.
Kring has something to say about the graph, revealing they don't get much help in the artistic department. "It becomes very hard to kill off certain characters," said Kring. "The network has a very strong say in this, because of actors who are under contract and do publicity for them. It's not just up to the writers to decide."
Speaking of how he would have changed the story if he could, Kring said "I would have done fewer episodes. Thirteen a season is fabulous - you can really control the quality and the way you craft them. The sheer number of episodes has been a real struggle for us. Most shows shoot eight days, and we sometimes shoot as many as 15 days an episode."
"Season three took 15 months to make. Creatively, those 24 episodes are a hard number to hit. The other thing is that I would have started with new characters all over again. The premise is that this is happening to people all over the world, and the idea of seeing new people exploring this was really fascinating to me. But once fans fall in love with certain characters, it's harder to do that."
NBC is expected to make a formal announcement regarding the show's fate on Sunday, May 16. The latest rumor about the renewal is, NBC will either renew it for 13 episodes like Kring wanted or order four episodes for a "climatic finale" or cancel it for good.
