The television show Heroes follows the lives of a group of people discovering their superhuman abilities. Created by Tim Kring, this science fiction drama captured the imagination of NBC viewers everywhere. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities affect their lives. The series mimics the style of comic books, using short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Though filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, Heroes‘ storyline takes place all over the world, including New York City, and features some prominent NYC locales, some of which can be seen on our Super Tour of NYC.
On the show, New York City is home to Peter Petrelli, Simone Deveaux, Isaac Mendez, Mohinder Suresh, and many others.
One of the most prominent NYC locations–both on the show and in real life–is Times Square. In the episode, “Genesis,” one of the “heroes,” Hiro Nakamura, discovers his ability to teleport when he is standing on the Tokyo subway in Japan and he sees an advertisement for New York City. Then, using his power, he suddenly finds himself standing in the middle of Times Square. He gleefully exclaims, “Yatta! Hello New York!” Later in episode “Don’t Look Back,” Hiro encounters a newsstand vendor who is selling an odd comic book. The cover illustration of 9th Wonders!, Issue #14, shows Hiro in the middle of Times Square, arms stretched wide, just as he was moments before.
In a Season Two episode, “The Line,” Peter and Caitlin, having been in Montreal only moments before, mysteriously appear in an abandoned Times Square. Peter finds an evacuation flyer on the floor indicating that they had not only teleported location, but also more than a year into the future. Catch a glimpse of the world-famous Times Square on our Super Tour of NYC and our NYC TV & Movie Tour.
The fictional Kirby Plaza, the site of the would-be explosion from which the Heroes are to save the world in Season One. Nathan Petrelli flies his brother Peter into the air above Kirby Plaza to prevent New York being destroyed. This fictional plaza is generally referenced as being in Midtown, yet the view Micah looks at out the window shows The Woolworth Building and the steeple of St. Paul’s Church (the little church that survived the September 11th attacks), which is right next to the real-life Ground Zero. The location used for Kirby Plaza is actually the Arco Plaza in downtown Los Angeles at 515 South Flower St.
The Chelsea Cab Company is a fictional cab company, for which Mohinder drives cab #TV3058. The Chelsea Cab Company is located at the corner of “Cedar and Trinity.” In real life, this would be Cedar Street and Trinity Place in the Financial District, two blocks from the New York Stock Exchange.
Charles Deveaux’s apartment (and rooftop) is located on beautiful Central Park West, overlooking the park. It is from this roof that an assassin pushes Kaito Nakamura. The Petrelli Mansion also appears to be within walking distance of Central Park, though scenes shot at the Petrelli Mansion are actually filmed in a real mansion around 3rd and Wiltshire in Los Angeles. Our Central Park TV & Movie Sites Walking Tour takes you around the most filmed location in the world to see the sites from TV shows and movies filmed there.
The artist Isaac Mendez’s loft studio apartment in Lower Manhattan in the neighborhood of Chelsea. Isaac used it as a residence and an art studio. Later, the Company established a lab there for Mohinder Suresh, naming it Reed Street Laboratories.
While Heroes is filmed on a studio set in Los Angeles, New York City plays a large role in setting the scene for the action-packed show. Allow On Location Tours to take you behind-the-scenes of your favorite TV shows and movies filmed in New York City and get a feel of what city life is like for your favorite Heroes.
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.