'Heroes' Season 3 Adds More Characters

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

One of the things that makes the Heroes story feel so epic is the fact that there are many characters spread out around the globe. Lost may have made it cool to have an expansive, multi-ethnic cast, but Heroes put them all in different locations and gave them awesome superpowers. However, many fans felt that the major flaw of season 2 was that there were too many new faces. New additions like Maya, Alejandro, West, and Monica (Dana Davis) didn't go over well with audiences. Despite the fan backlash against some of these characters, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello has announced that Heroes will be adding two new faces to season 3.

Last week we announced that the show may be adding a new narrator character, and there are rumors that creator Tim Kring wants to add 12 villains as well. If all of these roles make it into the series, that's already a total of 15 new characters in season 3. Does that seem like overkill, or should we just wait and see how these roles are handled?

The two recurring roles that are currently being cast will both debut in the season 3 premiere. The first is a girl named Joy, who is in her early twenties and described as being quick on her feet and adept at getting herself out of trouble. The other character is Senator Robert Malden, who is in his fifties and a political straight shooter. Will he actually be a respectable politician, or will he be out to cause trouble for our heroes?

Based on the "quick on her feet" description of Joy, I'm going to guess that she'll have the power of super speed. While I'm fine with adding a senator to the mix, who may have some interesting interaction with Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), do we really need another young girl with powers? I think the show should stick to the heroes that have already been introduced, as things are already too crowded. However, maybe Joy will be a villain, which could make things more interesting.

Heroes season 3 will kick off with a two-hour premiere on September 15.