20 Great TV Shows That Everybody Turned Against
12. Heroes
Tim Kring's Heroes follows a group of regular people across the world who suddenly wake up to learn they've been endowed with superpowers.
Despite its straightforward premise, this comic book-inspired drama stood out from conventional superhero IPs at the time. Though Heroes dealt with fantastical elements, like time-travel, mind-reading, and alternate timelines, the character-driven conflicts stopped it from feeling like a run-of-the-mill superhero story. However, after a strong opening, the writers' strike of 2007 had a noticeable effect on the second season, leading to inconsistent writing and abandoned plotlines.
Heroes tried to get back on track in subsequent seasons, but never matched the original storylines. Attempts to keep things fresh led to retconning characters' powers and motivations, undermining emotional investment, and Sylar, who started as a terrifying villain, was diluted by overexposure and weak writing. Instead of building on established arcs, Heroes repeatedly reset itself, pissing everybody off.
Rather than letting it go, the showrunners hoped to catch lightning in a bottle with 2015's semi-reboot, Heroes Reborn. Unsurprisingly, the unneeded and unwanted spin-off was worse than anything its predecessor did, tarnishing the brand's reputation even further.