16 Years Later, a Beloved Superhero Classic Is Quietly Taking Over Streaming

6 days ago 17

Jack Coleman as Noah Bennet aka H.R.G. in the 'Heroes' episode

Published May 2, 2026, 5:47 PM EDT

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, and conducts interviews. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His novella, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, was released in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.

Perhaps the best thing about the streaming era in which we currently find ourselves is that it opens the door for audiences to revisit older movies and programs that many have either forgotten about or overlooked in favor of the next big thing. Whether you binged through it again recently or it's been several years, you may be surprised to hear that NBC's Heroes, created by Tim Kring, is once again charting on streaming platforms. The superhero show recently ranked among the top titles on the Apple TV Store, with the complete series (including the short-lived revival Heroes Reborn) being sold for the low price of $19.99. So, with Heroes back in the limelight, there's no better time to revisit the once-beloved take on comic book mythology than the present.

'Heroes' Was a Groundbreaking 21st-Century Take on the Comic Book Formula

Following the massive success of Lost, it was clear that NBC was hoping to capitalize on the widespread appeal of a mythology-rich, character-driven ensemble sci-fi series. Amid a revived interest in superheroes on the big screen — like Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman Begins — coupled with the WB's re-imagining of DC Comics lore for the 21st century on Smallville, there was no better time for this vision to make its way across the airwaves. Heroes' first season was a cultural phenomenon. "Save the cheerleader, save the world" became a mantra for those who couldn't get enough of superpowered television, in an age where costumed superheroes on TV weren't quite as cool as they would be a decade later.

After a stellar first season, Heroes continued for three more years, offering varying degrees of quality in storytelling and asking plenty of questions that it often struggled to answer. However you feel about some of those later years, there's no denying that its inaugural season was truly something special. With remarkable characters, fascinating mythos, and more potential than it knew what to do with, Heroes was easily one of the most engaging sci-fi shows of its time. Everything about it was well-constructed and compelling, including characters like hospice nurse, Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), who believes he has a greater destiny; Texas cheerleader, Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere), who can't be killed; Japanese office worker, Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), who discovers he can warp time; and Indian scientist, Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), who learns that his father had uncovered something that would change the world. Everyone had a purpose, and everyone had a role that only they could play.

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Of course, this isn't taking into account the government agents meant to keep all this under wraps, the police officer who can read minds, the serial killer stealing superpowers while wandering the country, the woman with super strength and multiple personalities, or the politician who has his eyes set on the White House. The way that Heroes could weave together the lives of so many individuals who couldn't be more different or removed from each other's lives was beyond impressive. Season 1's 23 episodes effortlessly balance long-form serialized storytelling with standalone installments, and you won't be able to stop yourself from seeing it through. If only the show had kept up that hype in the subsequent years.

Although 'Heroes' Faded Over Time, Its First Season Remains a Hit

Heroes' second season was, tragically, cut short by the 2007-08 writers' strike, which contributed to the show's increasingly troubled narrative. While there were certainly questions left unanswered after Season 1, the next few seasons struggled to provide satisfying answers. By the time the show was canceled following its fourth season, it was a shell of its former self, surviving off a combination of Season 1 nostalgia and personal redemption arcs that would have led into a possibly more compelling fifth season that never happened.

Still, Heroes is one of those shows that fans of comic book material and superhero fodder will find themselves hooked on. Just like the worlds of DC and Marvel, Heroes has both its moments of brilliance and its shortcomings, but it's the characters you ultimately stick around for. With a new reboot seemingly on the way, there's no better time to revisit the original than now.