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‘Heroes’ Nabs Fourth Season, Could Be Tied to Futuristic ‘Day One’

NBC has given Heroes the green light for a fourth season, despite dramatic declines in viewers, ordering 18-20 new episodes of the show.

The series, already down in viewers in season three, has hit series lows in recent weeks, Media Life reports. The show is averaging a 3.9 in 18-49s for the season, but in recent weeks has been closer to 3.0.

Meanwhile, fans on message boards are complaining that there are too many secondary characters involved in the plot, which has become increasingly complicated.

Media Life points out that competition for prime time programming hours has become increasingly intense for NBC, which has axed five of its weeknight prime time hours by giving those hours to Jay Leno for his own show. That means that the future of programs like Heroes, which are experiencing slipping ratings, and Chuck, which the network likes but which is not performing well, is uncertain.

Despite its ratings erosion, Heroes is still one of the network’s top-rated series among 18-49s for the season.

Nokia is teaming with the creator of the show to create a multiplatform, interactive storytelling project code-named TEVA, reports InformationWeek. The project will involve geotagging, social networking and user-generated content, among other elements, and will be rolled out regionally this summer.

Next season, Heroes will possibly be tied with a new NBC pilot, Day One, which follows a group of survivors following a catastrophic global event, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Day One, likely to have a 13-episode run, could potentially be booked into the Heroes Monday night spot, with Heroes airing later in the season. Another possibility for Day One could be on Sundays, where Kings will premiered March 15, says Angela Bromstad, NBC entertainment president.

NBCU chief executive Jeff Zucker recently named Bromstad NBC’s new chief programmer of dramas and comedies. As the fourth executive to hold the post in 19 months, she is viewed as Zucker’s secret weapon upon whom hopes are pinned to revive the fourth-place network’s prime time, according to the Los Angeles Times.

NBCU profits fell 6% in the fourth quarter of 2008, due in part to a 25% drop in owned-and-operated TV station revenue. The devastating slip on the local front were partly offset by a strong quarter from the cable networks unit, which posted a 22% rise in profits on an 11% rise in revenue.