A major development to report from the set of NBC’s Heroes: EW.com has learned that co-executive producers Jeph Loeb (left) and Jesse Alexander, two of the show’s most instrumental writer/producers, are leaving the three-year-old series. Their departure comes at a watershed moment for Heroes, which has taken a serious hit in the ratings amid complaints by critics and fans alike that the show has lost its zeitgeist-tapping appeal. The drama is averaging 9 million-plus viewers this season, down from last year’s 11.6 million average.
Loeb and Alexander are celebrities in their own right among the fanboys. Loeb is an author of many comic books, including Batman, The Hulk, and Superman for All Seasons, which inspired the creation of Smallville. Loeb joined the then-WB drama in its second season. Alexander was previously a co-executive producer on Lost and Alias. It’s unclear whether Heroes creator/executive producer Tim Kring will replace the two writer/producers.
Comments (1-30) of 256 Add your comment
I’ll keep watching until they cancel it, but damn can anything else go wrong for this show?
Damn that sucks,hope the show can survive that
Purely incomprehensible! Is this due to budget cuts or something? Loeb and Alexander were two of Heroes’s best writers! Nonsense!
Well, how many times can they write a character being killed and coming back?
It’s like rats deserting a sinking ship, except by “rats” I mean “smart people saving their own *sses”.
They we’re fired, I don’t think they are leaving a sinking ship, they we’re pushed.
Smart move! I wonder what their exact reasoning for leaving the show was.
I’m not surprised by Loeb. The man’s actual comic work (Ultimates, Hulk) hasn’t been real good lately. I wonder if the death of his son two years ago is still affecting his drive but confident the show can survive. Hey, EW’s been complaining so long about writing being bad, fresh blood should help.
Ah, fired by NBC according to Variety.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117995152.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
I dont get why losing 2.6 million viewers is such a catastrophe. There are still 9 MILLION people watching the show. I look at it like this: If I had 11.6 million dollars and then spent 2.6 million dollars on a car or a horse or something…then crashed the car, or the horse’s leg fell off…i’d still be happy because I had 9 million dollars.
There was SO MUCH potential in this show..b.ut now, heroes basically has the SAME STORYLINE EVERY YEAR!!
They see something bad in the future…and htey have to change it….
that’s the only storyline these writers can come up with…seriously???
1) I’m sick of whole “going into future…save teh world now” theme
2) everyone dying…but not REALLY DYING!!!
This is seriously major and a very stupid move! I am tired of all the bad press surrounding this show! S3 has been AWESOME and people just keep bashing it! AND YES I MEAN YOU JEFFERY JENSEN! YOU WOULDN’T KNOW A GOOD SHOW IF IT BIT YOU ON THE ASS!
maybe this will stop the show from sucking so much…replace ‘em with real writers like those guys who write Supernatural…
abc should follow suit and fire shonda rhimes from GA. save it!
WOW, What a huge mistake!!!!!
If NBC seriously thinks that Jesse and Jeph are the reason for heroes sucking this year they are idiots. They were probably 2 of the most talented and creative guys working on Heroes.
Bring back BRYAN FULLER!!!!!!!!!
Geez, am I the only person on this board who’s actually been LOVING this season? I think it’s been awesome!
It sucks, are you kidding me?
Couldn’t be more brilliant for the series.
It’s a terrible show and Loeb is a god awful writer. And a world class a-hole in real life.
Uh oh… This is really not good at all… Hopefully, this may mean a great Season 4, but why does it have to be Season 4 when series start to get great?
You are not the only one, GlengroveG. I also think it has been awesome! I think a lot of the bad press is just a bunch of band wagon bashing!
That actually might be a GOOD thing. I find most Jeph Loeb stories lack a cohesive narrative, to say the least. (Ask any comics fan.. or just read ULTIMATES3, if you can…) I have no idea how he keeps getting work!
DC you are correct. They need to bring him back. “Company Man” is by far the best Heroes episode, and they are in need of his services.
Jesse is a seriously talented writer/producer – the show needs him now more than ever! It’s really really sad because HEROES had so much potential. With moves like this, it’s clear NBC wants to destroy the series. I give until the end of this season… if that.
Oh great, now Loeb can go back to producing some of Marvel’s lesser titles. People, did you read Ultimates 3, I don’t know what was going on and the art was so dark there was no reason to hire Joe Mad when his pencils are buried beneath digitally dimly lit panels.
Marvel lost it when Civil War came around.
if these are the idiots who had anything to do with last week’s unneccesary beating of viewers over the head with the not so subtle explanation 3 times that sylar saved peter by throwing him out the window nicely then i say good riddens.
oh my gosh. I only liked the first season of this show, and now I know why: BRYAN FULLER co-produced and wrote a lot of the first season.
The only way to save this show is to bring back Fuller! (of course that may only happen at the demise of Pushing Daisies, which I fervently hope won’t happen)
fix. it. fix it.
YATTA!