The superhero drama Heroes, which first aired in 2006, has landed on Netflix with all four seasons available to stream. The show, created by Tim Kring, is attracting new viewers more than a decade after its debut, with fans describing it as “addictive” and “not at all ordinary.”
A decade-old drama finds a new audience
Heroes follows ordinary people from around the world who suddenly discover they possess extraordinary superhuman abilities, with the lead characters' lives intrinsically linked. Written in a comic book-style narrative using multi-episode story arcs, or “volumes,” it became a pop-culture phenomenon during its initial run.
Interest in the series has grown following the death last month of Hayden Panettiere, who played cheerleader Claire Bennett, one of the show's pivotal stars, at the age of 36.
Fans praise character-driven storytelling
One fan rated the Emmy-winning series 10 stars on IMDb, comparing it to Marvel's X-Men. They wrote: “Heroes is similar to Marvel's X-Men, in that its characters discover they have different powers. But where X-Men is driven more by action and plot, Heroes is more character-driven.”
The fan detailed the show's ensemble of eight characters, each with a different power: Claire Bennett, a high school cheerleader with spontaneous regeneration; DL Hawkins, who can phase through matter; Isaac Mendez, an artist who can paint the future; Hiro Nakamura, an office worker who can bend and travel through space-time; LAPD Officer Matt Parkman, who has telepathy; Nathan Petrelli, an ambitious politician who can fly; his brother Peter, an in-home nurse who can absorb others' powers; and Niki Sanders, who has super strength.
“But what separates 'Heroes' from most shows and movies is that each of our heroes are uniquely flawed,” the fan added, noting Claire frequently forgets who her real friends are, DL is running from the law, Isaac is addicted to heroin and can only see the future when high, Hiro used his power for personal gain, Matt is dyslexic and has marital problems, Nathan cares more about his career than his family, Peter suffers from depression, and Niki has a violent alter-ego.
‘Addictive’ viewing now streaming
Another fan, writing as Blue Ray Authority, praised the show's villains: “Naturally, with a title like 'Heroes' you have to have… villains! I'm happy to say that the show has a few of the vilest villains that I've seen on television... To say that 'Heroes' is addictive is an understatement. It's right up there with 'Lost' and 'Nip/Tuck' in terms of regular television shows that I watch on a weekly basis.”
All four seasons of Heroes are available to stream now on Netflix.
