‘Heroes’ cast members give insight into second season

There will be new characters; some old ones won’t survive.

By DERRIK J. LANG

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NEW YORK — Last year this time, “Heroes” was just another new show hoping to find some viewers. As everyone who owns a TV knows, it succeeded. Last season’s top-rated freshman series, about a group of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities, now has fans scratching for second-season details.

While cast members know not to give away too much, some of them who came to New York last week to tout the show and a first-season DVD let slip a few plot turns. All agreed their characters will do something totally different this season.

“I’m just trying to get some more power,” teased Zachary Quinto, who plays Sylar, whose trail of blood led off screen in the season finale, after he failed to make New York go “boom.” While the bad guy will continue his evil ways — slicing the heads off “Heroes” and fleecing their special abilities — there are changes ahead.

“The point at which we left the story in season one, and the point at which we begin in season two are vastly different for my character, and for all of the characters, really,” said Quinto, who’ll take a leave of absence from the show to play Spock in J.J. Abrams’ new big-screen “Star Trek.”

Changes for Ando

With time-traveling Hiro Nakamura transported to 17th-century Japan in the final moments of the first-season finale, that means changes for his sidekick, Ando Masahashi. The Yamagato Industries office worker from Tokyo must find a new way to connect with his pal.

“There’s going to be an interesting channel of communication,” said James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando. “I can’t reveal what, but it’s going to be such a great way of storytelling. What happens in one timeline may affect the other. For Ando, I think you’ll see him spending more time at Yamagato. Does he want to stay there? Probably not, after experiencing all that he did in season one.”

Lee expects Ando and Hiro to reunite and begin a new adventure in season two’s eighth episode, which has yet to be filmed.

Filling in gaps

Hiro won’t be the only one hopping through time. The first episode, titled “Four Months Later,” will time-shift the entire story line. Then, in episode eight, fans will find out what happened “Four Months Ago.”

This means new viewers won’t feel left out if they missed the first season, said “Heroes” co-executive producer and writer Jeph Loeb, who tagged along on the North American leg of the “Heroes” World Tour, which dispatched other cast members to parts of Asia and Europe.

“For the returning fans, episode eight fills in the gaps,” said Loeb. “Hopefully, by that time, everyone will be into this mystery. When we get to the middle of November, everyone will be completely filled in and we’ll move forward.”

New character

One of the mysteries will be in the form of a new character, Maya, portrayed by Dania Ramirez (AJ’s heartbreaker in “The Sopranos” and the super-fast villainous Callisto in “X-Men: The Last Stand”). Maya is a super-powered Dominican on the run from the law with her twin brother. As for her special ability, Ramirez said viewers will have to wait until the show’s Sept. 24 premiere.

OK. But where’s she headed, anyway?

“She’s going north, Ramirez said coyly. “There’s a lot of injustices she encounters in her journey up north. She’s trying to get to the U.S. to figure out or find out what’s happening to her. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s cool. It’s really cool.”

Not so cool for some others: They won’t survive the season.

Last year’s casualties included super-persuasive Eden McCain, radioactive Ted Sprague and psychic-painter Isaac Mendez. This season, expect creator Tim Kring and his writing staff to condemn more “Heroes.”

“This is not a show about stars,” Loeb explained. “This is a show about the show. Everyone has the same conversation when they come on. Wherever the story takes the writers and takes Tim is what serves that task. Keeping it very unexpected is part of what our audience demands of us. If all we’re doing is continuing with the same characters, then we’re the same as every other show. We have a policy in the writers’ room that no one is safe.”