Jeffrey Bell

Previous Credits Include: The X-Files, Angel, Alias

Bell got his start in the later years of The X-Files, crafting stories about everything from a person whose emotions control the local weather to a man who is turning into metal. He then really upped his game on Joss Whedon’s Angel, which he joined in the third season, writing several key episodes of the increasingly serialized and compelling series. By Season 5, Bell was serving as showrunner, and co-wrote (with Whedon) the fantastic Angel series finale.

Bell then moved to Alias, for that show’s final two years. That once-great series had undergone some huge missteps by that point, before Bell arrived. But still, he showed his talent at creating stories that were fun and also gave insight into the characters, such as "Ice," which stood out as possibly the best ever episode of Alias to focus on Michael Vaughn, and certainly was a highlight of an otherwise unremarkable period on the series.

With The X-Files, Angel and Alias, Bell has proven time and again he can deliver the goods when it comes to genre TV, while also offering the strong characterization Heroes so often lacks. And those three series also had periods where they were heavily serialized and others were they were more stand alone – something Heroes needs to create a better balance between, since they seem so remiss at doing any episodes that take a break from messily conceived ongoing plots in order to focus more on just a couple of characters. But if you’re looking for serialization, Bell’s certainly your man, since he not only worked on the incredibly tightly woven fourth season of Angel, but also Day Break, which told a fast moving storyline over its 13 episode run.

Bell is currently working on CBS’s Harper’s Island as the showrunner, meaning he’s not exactly the most available candidate on this list. But considering Harper’s is a serialized murder mystery series on a network where procedurals rule, I wouldn’t hold my breath for its success. NBC already has an investment in Heroes, and Bell has already shown he can jump on a show that’s been running for awhile and fit right in.