Can rebooted Heroes Reborn bring back the magic?

Judith Shekoni as Joanne, left, and Zachary Levi as Luke in a scene from Heroes Reborn. Christos Kalohoridis / NBC via AP

Let's get the bad news out of the way from the start – Zachary Quinto will not be back as Sylar, the super-powered serial killer who attacked other superhumans to steal their powers, when Heroes (which originally ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010) gets a reboot beginning on Saturday on OSN.

If you can get past that fanboy hurdle, then Heroes Reborn, from the original show's creator Tim Kring, promises to serve up an epic 13-episode first season – which we are promised will be a self-contained mini-series telling a complete story with no loose ends – as it chronicles the lives of more ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. And while Sylar will be missing, a few familiar faces will be returning.

“The story was really the thing that dictated who would come back,” says Kring. “I always saw it as a show that could repopulate itself. I wanted it to be easy for brand-new viewers to watch for the first time. Falling in love with new characters is just as important as having the former cast in the new show.”

When the NBC series made its debut nine years ago, it was an instant hit, celebrated as one of TV’s most fun, imaginative ­creations with its smooth pacing and ­perfect cast. The plot’s rallying call of “Save the cheerleader, save the world” became a global catchphrase.

But the honeymoon ended swiftly, as in subsequent seasons it descended into darker storylines, a grim tone and rambling, confusing plots that saw 16 million viewers slip to only six million by the time it was cancelled.

Heroes Reborn begins with a terrorist attack in Odessa, Texas, that leaves the city decimated. The government points the finger at those with extraordinary abilities, forcing superpowered vigilantes such as Luke (Zachary Levi) and Joanne (Judith Shekoni) into hiding, fleeing those with bad intentions, even as they plot revenge for their personal loss in the catastrophe.

Familiar faces making a return include Jack Coleman as hero-hunter Noah Bennet, Masi Oka as time-travelling Hiro Nakamura, Greg Grunberg as telepath Matt Parkman, Sendhil Ramamurthy as genetics expert Mohinder Suresh, and Jimmy Jean-Louis as the memory-altering Haitian.

• Heroes Reborn begins at 10pm on Saturday on OSN First HD