Heroes Reborn was conceived by series creator Tim Kring as a continuation of the original Heroes, though he stated it takes place considerably after the original events, calling it not a fifth season but effectively 'the 10th season'.

Tim Kring designed the show from the start as a closed-ended, thirteen-episode event series meant to wrap up completely, but he later expressed regret that this intention wasn't clearly communicated, leading audiences to be confused about whether it was a reboot or a limited series.

A six-chapter prequel web series titled Dark Matters was released on July 9, 2015, to introduce the new characters and storylines before the main series premiered.

NBC aired a 16-second teaser promo for the series during the 2015 Super Bowl.

The series received mixed reviews, scoring 53 out of 100 on Metacritic and only 42% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, whose critical consensus criticized it for focusing on special effects and melodrama at the expense of a compelling narrative.

NBC announced on January 13, 2016, that Heroes Reborn would not be renewed for a second season.

The story expanded into other media, including two Titan Comics limited series (Heroes: Vengeance and Heroes: Godsend) and a tie-in video game called Gemini: Heroes Reborn, released in January 2016 for PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One to mixed reviews.