NBC’s Heroes is no stranger to web series, having had internet tie-ins since season 1. But what’s unique about this television/new media relationship is that each inception of the online counterpart has continued to push the boundaries in terms of how much crossover occurs between the main series and concurrent web series. It’s last installment, Nowhere Man, took a main character from the show, Eric Doyle (played by David H. Lawrence), continued his journey online, and then returned him to the main show to finish out his storyline.
In it’s latest incarnation, NBC plans to push the envelop even further by creating a number of multi-media elements to the new series including one-minute scenes airing online directly tied to the on-air story, interactive SMS synced to broadcast, a Heroes survival game, graphic novels for mobile devices, and a $25,000 sweepstakes which links the interactive story.
The actual storyline of the new series is still mostly wrapped in mystery but it will revolve around a carnival and the people with extraordinary powers that run it, including a new character introduced in the web series that will then appear on Heroes this season – the daughter to carnival member Lydia (played by Dawn Olivieri). Like her mother, Lydia will have a power of her own. An additional three characters from the series also play a part in the web series. (information via IGN TV) This “Carnival of Redemption” was a focal point of the promotion of Heroes at Comic Con, with a fully functional carnival being built across the street from the San Diego Convention Center.
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In an official press release, NBC also announced that they have renewed their partnership with Sprint. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Sprint, now in its third year, and bring fans a unique multi-media experience that seamlessly integrates the Sprint NOW messaging into the fabric of the Heroes story. This is an excellent example of how to engage fans of a show by leveraging the strength of the digital medium, and it’s a model for how we’d like to continue to do business with our advertising partners,” said Peter Naylor, Senior Vice President, Digital Media Sales, NBC Universal.
There is no official title for the new series as of yet, but it will be launching September 28th and has a planned 10-week run. Chris Hanada and Tanner Kling of Retrofit Films are co-directing these web episodes, although they’re not producing this time around, instead Heroes will produce in-house.
Top photo by worldchaos81
