9 TV Shows That Tried To Exploit Nostalgia (And Failed)

2. Heroes Reborn

Part of the wave of TV show revivals dropping in the mid-2010s, Heroes Reborn could have been something special. The original show crashed and burned fairly quickly, but the promise of that first season was something audiences didn't forget. As a result, the feeling was that if Heroes was allowed to be unshackled in the way modern TV was with no mandate to exist indefinitely, it could finally realise its full potential.

A 13-episode event run was made intentionally to go back to the show's first-season roots, rebooting the series a little bit like Star Wars or Independence day, with new, younger characters being brought in to compliment the returning cast.

The end result was muddled though, and the storytelling hadn't improved in the years Heroes had been off the air. Millions of people tuned in to see these characters return, but quickly dropped off when it became apparent that the core issues that tanked the series previously hadn't been addressed.