NBC will try to stretch ''Heroes'' by spinning off a related six-episode ''Heroes: Origins'' series that lets the audience choose a new cast member.
Fourth-place NBC was the first of the broadcast networks to unveil a new fall schedule to advertisers this week. After showing signs of life last fall, NBC recorded its least-watched week in prime time in at least 20 years last month then went even lower the following week.
With only four new dramas set to bow in the fall, and a drama and comedy each scheduled for midseason, it's a conservative schedule for a network badly in need of hits.
"Loading up on (new) product is not necessarily a recipe for success,'' said Kevin Reilly, NBC entertainment president. ''Particularly in this day and age, with a fragmented audience, you simply can't market them.''
"Bionic Woman'' will air Wednesday, ahead of a new drama about a detective given a second chance after being wrongly jailed for a crime.
"Journeyman,'' about the calendar-skipping reporter, gets the post-''Heroes'' time slot on Mondays. The computer geek ''Chuck'' shows off on Wednesday.
''We like the high-concept hooks,'' Reilly said. ''But this was by no means an effort to replicate what we have on 'Heroes.'''
The six-episode ''Heroes: Origins'' series is a novel way for a network to address one of its chief unpleasant lessons this season: viewers are impatient when their favorite serials disappear into reruns for a huge chunk of the year. Each episode will introduce a potential new character, and the most popular chosen by fans will join the ''Heroes'' cast full time.
http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04647917/new_heroes_mini_series.html
