Tim Kring, creator and executive producer of NBC's Heroes, has been under pressure to simplify the show's storylines and refocus on character development, Variety reported.
There's been a feeling that he's delegated too much responsibility for writing and story development to his top writing lieutenants, co-executive producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb, and over the weekend, at the prodding of NBC executives, Kring made the tough call to let Alexander and Loeb go from the show that the duo had helped shepherd since season one.
Kring has reportedly assured NBC and Universal Media Studios, which produces the series, that he intends to focus on simplifying what's been criticized, even by ardent fans, as an overly complex storytelling structure to get back to the show's comic-bookish good-vs.-evil themes and to emphasize character development more than plot twists.
The thinking is that his focus is needed most in breaking stories and refining the tone of the show for the remainder of its third season, the trade paper reported.
Heroes is averaging 10.4 million viewers and a 5.1 rating/12 share among adults 18-49 so far in its third season, a 21 percent drop in total viewers and an 18 percent decline in adults 18-49 from its second season (which was cut short by the writers' strike).
(NBC and Universal Media are owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.)
