I’m writing and directing one of the Heroes: Origins episodes.
News of this leaked out over the past few weeks — it even shows up on my IMDb page — but it wasn’t official until quite recently, so I didn’t want to blog about it.
For those who haven’t been obsessively following All Things Heroes, Origins is an anthology series that takes place in the same universe as Heroes, but doesn’t correlate directly to the main season’s plotlines.1 Modeled after shows like The Twilight Zone, each week’s episode stands on its own, with new characters and self-contained situations.
I’m being careful not to say too much, because it’s not my show. It’s Tim Kring’s show. I’m just delighted to get to muck around in it.
How did I get the gig? I asked. Repeatedly. From the moment it was first announced, I knew I wanted to do one. I love writing one-hour dramas — act breaks are amazing tools — but I didn’t want to write a pilot this season. And it’s almost impossible for a writer to drop in for just one episode of an ongoing series. Not only is it like trying to grab a moving train, but it would ruin all the enjoyment of watching one of my favorite shows.
So, an anthology series is incredibly appealing. I’m grateful they said yes.
Kevin Smith, Eli Roth and Michael Dougherty have already been announced for the series. The plan as I understand it is to air all of the Origins episodes after the main season concludes. (So, April?) With looming labor uncertainty, I don’t want to assume that calendars are set in stone. In fact, everything these days feels a little bit wobbly. But I’ve already enjoyed plotting out my episode with the Heroes folk, and look forward to shooting it. Fingers crossed.
- And when I say “directly,” I should probably say, “at all.” I have no idea what’s going to be happening this season. ↩