In my live chat Thursday, someone asked whether there had been a lot of behind-the-scenes changes at “Heroes” since the first season that might account for its decline. At the time, the answer was no, but clearly change was needed. The Hollywood trade papers are reporting that over the weekend, co-executive producers Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander were fired. Here’s the rest of the item by Cynthia Littleton:

Both scribe-producers had been with the show since its first season and were known to have led the day-to-day production operation under the direction of creator/exec producer Tim Kring. “Heroes,” produced by Universal Media Studios, has struggled in the ratings its third season. It’s understood that Alexander and Loeb were let go because of Peacock execs’ frustration with the creative direction of the show. The show is also said to have been grappling with hefty budget overruns this season, that are going well beyond its already sizable $4 million per-seg pricetag.