Heroes, the genre-defining sci-fi series that completely took over pop culture in the mid-2000s, is leaving Prime Video on January 1. Love it, side-eye it, or forever argue about what went wrong later — there’s no denying Heroes delivered one of the strongest first seasons of television ever. When the show first hit the airwaves almost 20 years ago, the whole experience felt simply electric. It was such a good premise, ordinary people across the world suddenly discover extraordinary abilities, and their lives slowly begin to intertwine. It was like the MCU before the MCU in the way that these heroes would cross over with each other, all while evading the most powerful villain television had seen in Zachary Quinto‘s Sylar.
Starring Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Milo Ventimiglia, Jack Coleman, Greg Grunberg, and more, Heroes quickly became appointment television. The tagline “Save the cheerleader, save the world” wasn’t just marketing — it was everywhere. And that first season is pretty much a home run, with near-perfect character work, pacing, and a kinetic sense of propulsion when it came to the plot. It was serialized superhero storytelling on network TV before that kind of thing became the norm.
And after that… okay, it’s best we don’t talk about that. Heroes has become the go-to example whenever fans talk about shows that peaked early. Subsequent seasons struggled under tangled plotlines, uneven character arcs, and twists that often felt shocking for shock’s sake. The falloff was steep enough that even longtime fans admit the magic didn’t last. Still, that first season? Untouchable.
Ali Larter Thinks Heroes Was a Career Highlight
With Heroes: Eclipsed now officially in development, the franchise is back in the conversation — and so are questions about whether any original cast members might return. For Ali Larter, who memorably played multiple characters, including Niki Sanders, Jessica, and Tracy Strauss, the idea comes with mixed emotions. Speaking at the Newport Beach TV Festival, Larter reflected on what made Heroes special in the first place.
“I have not heard that. I think they tried it a second time, but it didn’t quite click. The first season, I think, will always be one of the best seasons of TV. It was really special. It was powerful. It was kind of one of those magical moments.”
That “second time” refers to Heroes Reborn, the 2015 revival that brought back familiar faces but never quite recaptured the original spark. Even so, Larter believes the memory of that first season still holds incredible weight. “Again, I spoke about that in the Q&A [earlier in the day]. This is like, you know, I’ve had this a few times in my career,” Larter explained. “And when you do something and that magic happens on set, and it does connect on a global level, it’s totally extraordinary.”
Heroes leaves Prime Video on January 1. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates.
- Release Date
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2006 – 2010-00-00
- Directors
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Allan Arkush, Jeannot Szwarc, Adam Kane, Greg Yaitanes, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Roxann Dawson, Paul A. Edwards, John Badham, Donna Deitch, Kevin Dowling, Seith Mann, Ron Underwood, Paul Shapiro, Lesli Linka Glatter, S.J. Clarkson, Daniel Attias, David Straiton, Kevin Bray, David Semel, Holly Dale, Ed Bianchi, Nathaniel Goodman, Christopher Misiano, Ernest R. Dickerson
