Heroes Appears to Be Renewed

NBC, which hinted earlier in the year that the former phenomenon Heroes had a "very secure" future and was likely to be renewed for next fall, confirmed that an order for a fourth season is being planned, THR reported.

This move was expected. Though the show's ups and downs have made big press, and it regularly gets around half the viewers of Monday night's big performers Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami, the fact is that Heroes remains one of the network's top shows in terms of adult viewership (it's currently tied with The Office as NBC's top-rated show among 18-49 year-olds). Heroes also continues to be a strong performer overseas.

NBC entertainment president Angela Bromstad said the the network will order 18 to 20 episodes of Heroes for the 2009-2010, a slightly smaller order than in previous years. The order has not been formally finalized, so the show has not yet officially been renewed, but it seems clear a deal is going to happen.

Besides ratings, NBC also wants to keep Heroes on the schedule because it's planning a major 13-episode postapocalyptic series called Day One which it wants to plug into the Heroes timeslot during its hiatus, so that the new series can base itself on an established sci-fi audience.

This is great news. After the buffeting that Tim Kring has taken over seasons 2 and 3 over its sprawling storylines and inability to capture the "save the cheerleader, save the world" simplicity of its first season, the fresh start will give the show's creators one more chance to reinvent the show and help it live up to its potential.