# List of Heroes episodes
The episodes of *[Heroes](https://www.edgepedia.org/heroes-american-tv-series)* are the 78 installments of the American superhero drama *Heroes*, created by Tim Kring, which aired on NBC in four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010, beginning with "Genesis" (S01E01) and ending with "Brave New World" (S04E19)[1](https://tv-flash.com/shows/heroes/). Each season was organized as one or more named "volumes", and individual episodes were presented as "chapters" within those volumes[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/24/jump-the-shark-heroes).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total run | 78 episodes across 4 seasons on NBC, September 25, 2006 to February 8, 2010[1](https://tv-flash.com/shows/heroes/) |
| Season 1, "Genesis" | 23 episodes, September 2006 to May 2007[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes) |
| Season 2, "Generations" | 11 episodes, September to December 2007, shortened by the 2007–08 writers' strike[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes) • [4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/heroes-at-20-the-hit-show-that-brought-superheroes-to-primetime) |
| Season 3, "Villains" / "Fugitives" | 25 episodes across two story arcs, September 22, 2008 to April 27, 2009[5](https://www.inwhatorder.com/heroes/chronological) • [3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes) |
| Season 4, "Redemption" | 19 episodes, September 2009 to February 8, 2010, closing with "Brave New World"[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes) • [1](https://tv-flash.com/shows/heroes/) |
| Premiere audience | The debut episode "Genesis" drew 14.1 million viewers in the United States on September 25, 2006[6](https://as.com/meristation/series/hace-20-anos-se-estreno-la-serie-de-superheroes-que-cambio-la-television-salva-a-la-animadora-salva-el-mundo-f202609-n/) |
| Broadcast pattern | Average episode runtime 41 minutes; aired Mondays at 8:00 pm[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes) |
## Season 1: Genesis (2006–2007)
The first season contained 23 episodes in a single volume, "Genesis", broadcast from September 25, 2006, to May 21, 2007[7](https://heroeswiki.ddns.net/wiki/Heroes) • [5](https://www.inwhatorder.com/heroes/chronological). The premiere, "Genesis", reached 14.1 million American viewers, a level the season sustained on the strength of a then-novel premise of ordinary people discovering superpowers[6](https://as.com/meristation/series/hace-20-anos-se-estreno-la-serie-de-superheroes-que-cambio-la-television-salva-a-la-animadora-salva-el-mundo-f202609-n/).
**Structure of the season.** Early episodes kept the ensemble characters intentionally separate, and the writers' room mirrored this choice: an individual writer stayed with a single character across multiple episodes, as when [Bryan Fuller](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-fuller) shaped the cheerleader [Claire Bennet](https://www.edgepedia.org/claire-bennet)'s arc[4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/heroes-at-20-the-hit-show-that-brought-superheroes-to-primetime). Kring later said his plan was to keep the characters apart as long as possible, and that the network wanted them brought together as early as the second episode[4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/heroes-at-20-the-hit-show-that-brought-superheroes-to-primetime). An example of a mid-season hour is "Godsend", aired January 22, 2007, in which Nathan seeks Simone's help to save a comatose Peter and Hiro and Ando go in search of the sword in Isaac's painting[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heroes/s01).
## Season 2: Generations (2007)
The second season, volume "Generations", ran for 11 episodes from September to December 2007[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes). It opened with "Four Months Later", an episode that picks up the story after a four-month gap and follows, among other threads, a character winning his detectives' badge[9](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/DVD-Review/heroes-season-2-four-months-later-review/).
**The strike-shortened season.** Hollywood's 2007–08 writers' strike cut a planned 24-episode run to 11 episodes, and the season-long story arc had to be hastily reworked[4](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/heroes-at-20-the-hit-show-that-brought-superheroes-to-primetime) • [10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-got-one-of-the-most-bingeable-seasons-of-tv-ever-just-pretend-the-other-3-seasons-of-heroes-dont-exist). While the season was still airing, in November 2007, Kring publicly acknowledged problems with pacing, stories that had run too long, and new characters who had not generated the hoped-for interest[11](https://as.com/meristation/series/salva-a-la-animadora-salva-el-mundo-hayden-panettiere-rostro-del-ascenso-y-caida-de-heroes-f202608-n/).
## Season 3: Villains and Fugitives (2008–2009)
The third season comprised 25 episodes broadcast from September 22, 2008, to April 27, 2009, spanning two story arcs[5](https://www.inwhatorder.com/heroes/chronological), filed by TheTVDB under the volume titles "Villains" and "Fugitives"[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes). NBC introduced a series of webisodes on NBC.com before the season's airing[7](https://heroeswiki.ddns.net/wiki/Heroes).
Contemporary review of the season's DVD release judged that it did not start well but that the writers recovered over the course of the 25 episodes[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dvd-heroes-season-3-15-1799709.html), and noted notable episodes along the way to a cliffhanger finale that set up the fourth season[13](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/TV-Review/heroes-season-3-review/).
## Season 4: Redemption (2009–2010)
The fourth and final season, volume "Redemption", ran for 19 episodes from September 2009 to February 8, 2010[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes) • [1](https://tv-flash.com/shows/heroes/). It opened with a 90-minute premiere[14](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/heroes-season-4-episodes-1-2-review/), and a later episode, "The Fifth Stage", aired as episode 4.12[15](https://www.douxreviews.com/2000/01/heroes_01.html). The final episode, "Brave New World", was broadcast on February 8, 2010[1](https://tv-flash.com/shows/heroes/).
**Cancellation.** By the time NBC decided to cancel the series in 2010, viewership had fallen to around 4.4 million, and the network cited rising production costs and falling ratings; the announcement came roughly three months after the final episode aired[16](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/may/31/heroes-tv-show-america) • [11](https://as.com/meristation/series/salva-a-la-animadora-salva-el-mundo-hayden-panettiere-rostro-del-ascenso-y-caida-de-heroes-f202608-n/). The series ended on an unresolved cliffhanger[10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-got-one-of-the-most-bingeable-seasons-of-tv-ever-just-pretend-the-other-3-seasons-of-heroes-dont-exist).
## Writing and production pattern
**Serialization.** *Heroes* was built for sequential viewing rather than standalone hours, with no "monster of the week" episodes; reviewers noted that this made individual episodes hard to rewatch in isolation[14](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/heroes-season-4-episodes-1-2-review/). The show modeled itself on a comic-book convention of short, multi-episode arcs with defined storylines building to a larger season arc[17](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/2006-11-15_v41_054.pdf), and episodes were termed "chapters"[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/24/jump-the-shark-heroes).
**Credits.** Across the 78 episodes, Tim Kring wrote or co-wrote 18, more than any other writer; Adam Armus, Joe Pokaski, and Aron Eli Coleite each have 10 writing credits[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes). Kring described writing the season finale himself in at least one season[18](https://www.avclub.com/tim-kring-1798218998). Among directors, Greg Beeman led with 12 episodes, followed by Allan Arkush with 11[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes).
**Transmedia extensions.** An online comic book ran concurrently with each episode[19](https://worldscreen.com/tim-kring/), and the episodic universe extended to webisodes, online graphic novels, and a single tie-in novel[5](https://www.inwhatorder.com/heroes/chronological). Producers discussed this extension of television content across multiple media channels as a deliberate strategy, with transmedia formats held to the same production standards as the series itself[20](https://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/legacy/forums/heroes.html).
## The unaired pilot and episode counting
Databases disagree slightly on season counts because of the unaired pilot. Metacritic lists season 1 as 24 entries by including the original unaired premiere episode, an 85-minute cut[21](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/heroes/season-1/), while the aired-order count is 23[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes).
## Related episodic media
The franchise returned to episodic television with *[Heroes Reborn](https://www.edgepedia.org/heroes-reborn-miniseries)*, a 13-episode stand-alone miniseries that aired starting September 24, 2015[7](https://heroeswiki.ddns.net/wiki/Heroes). A viewing-order guide to the franchise also counts the official webisode series, the online graphic novels, and the tie-in novel alongside the 78 broadcast episodes[5](https://www.inwhatorder.com/heroes/chronological).
## References
1. [Heroes | TV Flash](https://tv-flash.com/shows/heroes/)
2. [How Heroes' comic-book universe got too big for TV, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/24/jump-the-shark-heroes)
3. [Heroes, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/heroes)
4. ['Heroes' at 20: The hit show that brought superheroes to primetime, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/heroes-at-20-the-hit-show-that-brought-superheroes-to-primetime)
5. [Heroes Chronological Order, InWhatOrder](https://www.inwhatorder.com/heroes/chronological)
6. [Hace 20 años se estrenó la serie de superhéroes que cambió la televisión, MeriStation/AS](https://as.com/meristation/series/hace-20-anos-se-estreno-la-serie-de-superheroes-que-cambio-la-television-salva-a-la-animadora-salva-el-mundo-f202609-n/)
7. [Heroes, Heroes Wiki](https://heroeswiki.ddns.net/wiki/Heroes)
8. [Heroes: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heroes/s01)
9. [Heroes: Season 2 – Four Months Later (Review), IndieLondon](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/DVD-Review/heroes-season-2-four-months-later-review/)
10. [Netflix just got one of the most bingeable seasons of TV ever, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-got-one-of-the-most-bingeable-seasons-of-tv-ever-just-pretend-the-other-3-seasons-of-heroes-dont-exist)
11. ["Salva a la animadora, salva el mundo": Hayden Panettiere, rostro del ascenso y caída de 'Héroes', MeriStation/AS](https://as.com/meristation/series/salva-a-la-animadora-salva-el-mundo-hayden-panettiere-rostro-del-ascenso-y-caida-de-heroes-f202608-n/)
12. [DVD: Heroes – Season 3, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dvd-heroes-season-3-15-1799709.html)
13. [Heroes: Season 3 – Review, IndieLondon](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/TV-Review/heroes-season-3-review/)
14. [Heroes season 4 episodes 1 & 2 review, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/heroes-season-4-episodes-1-2-review/)
15. [Doux Reviews: Heroes](https://www.douxreviews.com/2000/01/heroes_01.html)
16. [The demise of Heroes, one of the biggest TV shows in America, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/may/31/heroes-tv-show-america)
17. [Observer review of NBC's Heroes pilot, Notre Dame Archives](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/2006-11-15_v41_054.pdf)
18. [Tim Kring interview, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/tim-kring-1798218998)
19. [Tim Kring, WorldScreen](https://worldscreen.com/tim-kring/)
20. [NBC's Heroes, MIT Communication Forum (transmedia discussion)](https://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/legacy/forums/heroes.html)
21. [Heroes season 1 Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/heroes/season-1/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Episode lists and indices*
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