After more than one million votes were cast, today NBC and Sprint announced the winning hero in the “Create Your Hero” campaign. The winning character will star in the new online live action micro-series, Heros: Destiny. The first of four episodes will premiere tonight exclusively on online at NBC.com and on Sprint phones, one episode to be released every Monday at 9pm et/pt starting November 10.
Also announced today was the casting of Columbian-born actor, Roberto Urbina, to bring the character to life. Urbina stars in a story created by the show’s award-winning writers and produced in collaboration with the series creators.
Lina Esco (“Cane”) and Andrea Thompson (“24”) will also star in the innovative micro-series, being filmed on location in Los Angeles. Based on the Aspen Comics’ online illustrations which brought Santiago to life on NBC.com, the micro-series will be directed by Eagle Egilsson (“CSI: Miami,” “The Wire”).
“For the first time ever, Sprint and NBC gave Heroes fans a hand in the creative process,” said Bill Morgan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Sprint. “And with the ability to vote and ultimately watch the new micro-series exclusively on mobile with their Sprint phones, we are demonstrating even more ways that our technology allows people to interact and be entertained.”
“Create Your Hero” began last season with fans selecting the characteristics of the new hero, including gender, name, special powers, personality and physical features. Each week fans voted on a different trait, which gradually evolved into two final character candidates: “Audrey” and “Santiago.” The winning hero, Santiago, 23, is an only child and lives with his mother in Lima, Peru. He works as an auto mechanic and hopes to go out in the world one day and accomplish something that makes his mother proud.
“We developed this campaign directly with Mindshare Entertainment as not only a great way to engage the fans with their favorite show,” said Barbara Blangiardi, Senior Vice President, Creative Partnerships and Innovation, NBC Universal, “but as an innovative project that connected Sprint’s marketing objectives seamlessly with our content, enhancing the overall viewing experience.”
The four-episode micro-series premieres tonight on NBC.com, Hulu, and Sprint wireless phones with sneak previews running each week during Heroes on NBC. The concept for the “Create Your Hero” project was developed in conjunction with “Heroes” creator Tim Kring. The production is a partnership between Mindshare Entertainment and NBC Universal Creative Partnerships & Innovation.
To see Heros: Destiny the series, please log on to http://www.nbc.com/heroesdestiny
