Masi Oka and Tim Kring Break Down Heroes: Season Two!

Find out what they think of their Emmy chances, Heroes: Origins, and the possibility of a Heroes feature film

After recently conquering the San Diego Comic-Con it only seems fitting that the people behind the smash hit Heroes would now sit down and discuss the upcoming Second Season of the show. Recently, Heroes creator Tim Kring and star Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) did just that while also addressing other important topics.

Tim, can you talk about the Heroes road show junket?

Tim Kring: The idea was sort of hatched when we took the cast to the NAPTE convention in Las Vegas and met many of the overseas buyers. They all asked the same question, "Is there ever a chance you could come visit us?" We just sort of politely nodded our heads and made small talk for awhile. The truth was we started to hatch this idea of... since the show is rolling out all around the world and premiering everywhere, it would be terrific to take the cast to some of these countries. To play up the idea that the theme of the show has this big, universal, global quality to it. It's sort of an embodiment of the message of the show. It happens to coincide with the release of the DVD on August 28 and it's really to talk about that and to bring the show to these other countries. We are going to New York, London, Paris, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

What do you think of your Emmy chances?

Tim Kring: I was just thrilled to be nominated. I had talked myself out of any chances of getting a nomination before it was announced. I came at it very thrilled and surprised by it. Clearly, in the category of Best Show we're up against very stiff competition because of a show like The Sopranos. It was crowned this year with so many accolades. It feels like that's the one to beat.

Masi Oka: I'm just floored and humbled. I'm definitely proud of our nomination. Personally, it's definitely an honor. To have Tim entrust us with his characters and to make sure we're portraying the characters in the best way possible. To be just a part of an ensemble is absolutely amazing.

Can talk about the Heroes graphic novel that's supposed to come out in the fall?

Tim Kring: We produced 22 online comics that ran concurrently with the show. They were 5 or 6 page ancillary storylines. Some of the best graphic artists in the business were involved and some of the best writers, and we are compiling all of those into a hard-bound book that comes out in the fall. The hard-bound covers will be done by Alex Ross and Jim Lee; two covers. It's as state of the art quality as there is in the comic book world.

Masi, is there anything in the Second Season with your character or anybody elses that surprised you?

Masi Oka: Oh gosh, so many things. Every week it's always a surprise. The actors, we're such big fans of the show. We just can't wait to read the scripts and that is even more-so in Season Two. You think, "How can they top the week before?" It's just amazing because the writers always find a way to surprise us.

Who came up with the idea of having Kevin Smith write and direct an episode of Heroes: Origins?

Tim Kring: I did. (Laughs) The idea of the 6 episodes is that it's an anthology series. Each episode will tell a standalone story concerning various characters that are not on Heroes; who are out there in the world experiencing these transformations and discovery of power. Each one of these stories is intended to look and feel and be different from one another. It really lends itself to the idea of unique voices coming in and doing these episodes. So Kevin is the first in hopefully a very interesting line of writers and directors we are going to attract to this show.

Do you see a Heroes feature film in the future?

Tim Kring: There's been no real serious discussion about it. I think mainly because the show is doing everything that a movie would do. I'm not sure what story we would tell. I think it's also very dangerous to spread the brand of the show too wide too quickly. So we're trying to manage just how big the brand actually gets.

Heroes Second Season begins September 24 at 9PM on NBC.

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