Heroes Origins

NBC announced a 6-episode spin-off of their breakout hit Heroes, Heroes: Origins.
The limited series will feature characters not yet seen on the original show. Viewers will get the chance to vote for their favorite Origins star, who will then join the cast of the real thing in the '08-'09 season.
Though the standard network season is 22 episodes, NBC has ordered 24 Heroes segments, which, when combined with Origins, brings the total number of heroic hours on the net to 30. Heroes: Origins will air mid-season, in order to give Heroes a hiatus (unfortunately, NBC has not discovered a way to imbue the staff and crew with superpowers of their own).

http://www.usmagazine.com/nbc_announces_i_heroes_i_spin_off