Sendhil Ramamurthy Joins 'Rex Is Not Your Lawyer': More Bad News for 'Heroes'?

First 'Heroes' lost its creative edge. Then it lost its ratings lead. Now, it looks like it may be losing its voice.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, 'Heroes' stalwart Sendhil Ramamurthy has been tapped to co-star in the upcoming NBC pilot 'Rex Is Not Your Lawyer'. Ramamurthy, who has played ethically challenged geneticist Mohinder Suresh on 'Heroes' since the show's inception, often provides the voiceover narration at the beginning of each episode and has been a key player in most plot lines over the past four seasons.

With season 4 of 'Heroes' now managing less than a third of its peak numbers (last week's episode drew a paltry 5.17 million viewers, compared to 16.97 for the season 2 premiere), however, the writing may finally be on the wall for the niche hit. Ramamurthy, who will play a friendly rival to David Tennant's title character on 'Rex,' will likely leave 'Heroes' if 'Rex' gets picked up for a full season, similar to the way 'Lost' favorite Elizabeth Mitchell jumped over to 'V' when that series got the greenlight. Whether or not his character would go out with as a big a bang, of course, is hard to predict.First 'Heroes' lost its creative edge. Then it lost its ratings lead. Now, it looks like it may be losing its voice.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, 'Heroes' stalwart Sendhil Ramamurthy has been tapped to co-star in the upcoming NBC pilot 'Rex Is Not Your Lawyer'. Ramamurthy, who has played ethically challenged geneticist Mohinder Suresh on 'Heroes' since the show's inception, often provides the voiceover narration at the beginning of each episode and has been a key player in most plot lines over the past four seasons.

With season 4 of 'Heroes' now managing less than a third of its peak numbers (last week's episode drew a paltry 5.17 million viewers, compared to 16.97 for the season 2 premiere), however, the writing may finally be on the wall for the niche hit. Ramamurthy, who will play a friendly rival to David Tennant's title character on 'Rex,' will likely leave 'Heroes' if 'Rex' gets picked up for a full season, similar to the way 'Lost' favorite Elizabeth Mitchell jumped over to 'V' when that series got the greenlight. Whether or not his character would go out with as a big a bang, of course, is hard to predict.

While the future looks to be bleak for 'Heroes,' however, it continues to brighten for 'Rex,' which also announced the addition of legendary television comedian Jane Curtin ('Saturday Night Live,' 'Kate and Allie,' '3rd Rock From the Sun'). Curtin will play Rex's mother on the series, which follows the life of a lawyer who begins coaching his clients to represent themselves after he starts suffering panic attacks in the courtroom. In addition to Tennant ('Doctor Who') and Curtin, the cast also already boasts veteran television actor Jeffrey Tambor ('Arrested Development,' 'The Larry Sanders Show') as Rex's shrink, who will be a love interest for Curtin's character.

Whether 'Rex''s gain turns out to be yet another loss for 'Heroes' remains to be seen, but if anyone should be able to see the end coming, it's geneticist Suresh. After all, as in science, on television it's impossible to outlive your natural lifespan.