Netflix Is Streaming A Superhero Series With An Amazing, Must-Watch First Season

Streaming services, but particularly Netflix, are known for giving shows a substantial bump in attention. "Breaking Bad" was famously saved from an early cancellation by Netflix thanks to the huge increase in viewership the series gained following its debut on the streaming platform. Meanwhile, other shows have been flat-out revived by Netflix after being canceled, including "Lucifer" and "Manifest." And even older, finished shows like "Suits" have gained new life years after ending thanks to Netflix exposing them to a whole new audience.

Now, Netflix has the chance to do that all over again with a TV series that had one of the best first seasons of the 2000s — not to mention, a superhero series that preceded the superhero movie and TV renaissance yet still looks better than most of its peers.

That show is "Heroes," the NBC series created by Tim Kring in 2006. The superhero drama ran for four seasons and had an ensemble cast that included Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, Zachary Quinto, Maki Oka, and Ali Larter. Notable actors like Malcolm McDowell, Clea DuVall, Eric Roberts and many others also showed up here and there.

It doesn't matter if you've never had the pleasure of hearing the words "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World," or if it's been years since you last watched "Heroes." This is a great time to experience the show's excellent first season. That's because "Heroes" is finally back on Netflix in the United States and other major regions after a decade-long absence from the platform. This isn't anything new, of course, as the series' absence coincided with the Streaming Wars and every studio launching their own platform. But now that everyone is desperate for cash, studios are opening their vaults and licensing their titles back to other services, Netflix included.

The first season of "Heroes" felt groundbreaking. It took a grounded and realistic approach to comic book superheroes that recalled M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable," but without feeling the need to explain fundamentals of comic book logic every five minutes. Instead, the first season told a simple story about a group of everyday people realizing they have superpowers before quickly falling into heroes or villains camps. Its cast was phenomenal, particularly Zachary Quinto as Sylar, a terrifying villain who can take people's powers by murdering them and then opening their skulls to determine how their brains are wired (before doing the same thing to himself).

As far as origin stories go, "Heroes" Season 1 made for a fun and thrilling tale about superheroes discovering their powers. Watching Hayden Panettiere's high school cheerleader Claire throw herself from increasingly greater heights to test her invulnerability powers, or the office worker Hiro (Masi Oka) having the time of his life teleporting and living his biggest manga dreams, was a delight, and while the plot was simple enough, its stakes — having to stop a cataclysmic explosion in New York City — made it impossible not to tune in week after week. Season 1 also featured terrific VFX and stunts that felt like a precursor to the big-budget genre shows that dominate the streaming era. Fittingly, for a show about superheroes heavily inspired by U.S. comic books, the series even included artwork drawn by real-life comic book legends Tim Sale and Alex Maleev.

Indeed, even if you've already watched it, "Heroes" Season 1 is somehow better than you remember it. Embracing superhero tropes rather than mocking them, it weaves a dramatic narrative that takes several unconnected people and brings them together for a phenomenal finale.

Unfortunately, "Heroes" Season 2 coincided with the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which heavily affected production. Out of the planned 20-plus episodes, only 11 ever aired, resulting in key storylines being rushed or dropped entirely.

More generally, though, "Heroes" felt like a one-trick pony. Though comparisons to "Lost" were made at the time, it wasn't a mystery box show that could sustain multiple-season arcs. Instead, it was very much a comic book-style series that would close the book on one story then begin on a new one. The problem there was that "Heroes" couldn't come up with a villain interesting enough to follow Sylar, a character who was legitimately scary and otherwise electrifying to watch. So, to compensate for this, the show tried to give its other villains increasingly complicated motivations that simply didn't hit as hard. But as much as the mythology of "Heroes" expanded over time, it could never match the heights of Season 1.

And so, "Heroes" diminished in popularity with each new passing season. Still, there was some good stuff here and there. Season 3, for example, gave us Željko Ivanek as "The Hunter," who's basically the "Heroes" equivalent of Colonel William Stryker from the "X-Men" franchise. By the same token, a very young Sydney Sweeney actually made her TV debut in an episode of "Heroes" Season 4. Besides, you can say what you will against the later seasons, but there's no denying that "Heroes" Season 1 remains a must-watch on its own.

Even in the era of too-much-superhero-TV, "Heroes" is unique in its approach to comic book-flavored TV drama. Check it out on Netflix, and see for yourself.