Heroes

With Comicon in the recent past, you would think Heroes' creator Tim Kring and Emmy nominated star Masi Oka would have very little left to reveal.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  NBC's dynamic duo sat in for a conference call with entertainment journalists this morning to discuss the upcoming coming second season of Heroes.

One interesting detail revealed right away was that Masi's character, Hiro, did not exist in the original script for the Heroes pilot.  When Kring looked at the bulk of dark and conflicted characters, he felt that what the recipe was missing was someone who really wanted to be a hero.

Tim Kring indicated there will be some fan-friendly casting in season 1 a la George Takei.  He did not want to spoil who this infamous genre staple is, but promised that this person's appearance would evoke a similar response.

USAWeekend asked the guys who their real life heroes were.  For Masi, it's his mother who raised him as a single parent, bringing him to the USA to pursue a better life.  For Tim Kring, it's the people who work mostly anonymously in small charity organizations versus those who seek celebrity through their efforts.

When asked about  how they felt about their chances at the Emmys, Kring admitted that he did not expect any nominations this season.  He is clearly intimidated by the competition in the Outstanding Drama Series race, and feels The Sopranos is the show to beat.  Kring admitted that the genre trappings generally create a bias against sci-fi shows.

Oka was very humble in discussing his odds, focusing instead on the validation that comes with just being nominated. People got into Masi's dual role on the show as occasional special effects consulting.  Oka said he appreciates the opportunity to hang out with people that speak his special effects language.

Some reporters tried to get some info out of the guys as to who the new villain will be in season 2.  Kring admitted that there are actually several new villains, and at least one has been foreshadowed already as the 'boogeyman' that terrified the young character Molly towards the end of season 1.

When Masi Oka jokingly mentioned a Heroes feature film, I couldn't resist the opportunity to jump on the duo about whether such an expansion was in the future for Heroes.  Kring responded by stating that they felt they were doing everything a film would do presently, and that there were definitely limits to how far the brand could be extended.  A feature film at this point would raise the bar too high for consistency to hold together.

On the brand expansion side of things, Kring detailed a new project waiting in the wings that will be a hard covered graphic novel that collects the online comics that covered events between episodes.

The Heroes season 1 DVD comes out August 28, and the second season premieres Monday, September 24 at 9pm on NBC.


- Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of NBC/Universal)