‘Heroes’ Debuted 10 Years Ago Today — And Made Us Love The Superhero Show

10 years today, NBC took a gamble on a little superhero show that was simply called Heroes. It wasn’t about Batman or Wolverine. It certainly had nothing to do with the Avengers. It was just a grounded yarn about a group of people struggling to make sense of the fact they all had superpowers — all while being targeted by one of their own. It became an unlikely national obsession. The runaway hit even had its own tagline: “Save the cheerleader. Save the world.” How did this happen?

One, it was really good.

Two, it was really smart.

The first season of Heroes is a perfect blend of classic TV drama (thanks to its creator Tim Kring) and exuberant comic book-style universe. The series dealt with multiple timelines, stand alone episodes, and meticulously-planned big reveals. It also had the benefit of Jeph Loeb. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s a major force in comic books. He’s not only responsible for writing some of the most important narrative arcs in the genre, but he also heads up Marvel’s television production today. So if the vibe of Heroes ever feels similar to Daredevil or Jessica Jones, it’s because Jeph Loeb had a big say in all three.

There’s no other way to put it: Heroes helped set the stage for our current obsession with comic book shows and films. The series proved that superheroes had crossover appeal — provided you presented them as fully-dimensional humans. Heroes captures the wonder and the fear that would strike us all if we discovered we had superpowers and it does so in the framework of a really tightly written first season. I mean, seriously, go back and rewatch it. The pilot is perfect and episodes like “Homecoming,” “Company Man,” and “Five Years Gone” rank as some of the best hours of drama ever produced on television.

Interestingly, Heroes was originally intended as an anthology series. Today, thanks to the likes of American Horror Story and Fargo, we’re accustomed to the format. In fact, many viewers adore the idea of rebooting a show every season. However, in 2007, the powers that be behind Heroes were nervous about the concept. Everyone involved felt as though they had caught lightning in a bottle. They had made a complex sci-fi yarn (starring an unknown actor speaking in Japanese with comic sans subtitles) a massive mainstream hit. People had fallen in love with Peter and Claire. They were terrified of Sylar. Heroes was unstoppable! What could go wrong?

Well, Season Two was bloated with new characters and a writer’s strike happened. Oh, and the show leaned too heavily on Sylar and created a convoluted series of twists that made everyone related to everyone else and, sigh, it got bad.

Still, Heroes deserves to be heralded. It was a laboratory for television writers to see how they could best adapt comic book characters for the small screen. Without Heroes, we don’t get Arrow, The Flash, or any of the Netflix/Marvel partnerships. Heroes also proved that mainstream audiences were ready to root for heroes with more mundane problems. We didn’t necessarily want non-stop explosions and “badass” fight scenes. We also wanted to watch people triumph over their own inner demons on the path to righteousness. In that way, Heroes also set the tone for Marvel movie boom. If people were going to root for a male nurse named Peter Petrelli to save the day, they would certainly get on board for Tony Stark.

So, happy anniversary, Heroes. You took that giant leap into the unknown and foretold a future filled with superheroes on TV.

[Watch Heroes on Netflix]