BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Yesterday was an exhausting but rewarding run around Los Angeles for TCA's day of set visits to "The Closer," "Two and a Half Men," "Cold Case," "Brothers & Sisters" and the new "TMZ" TV show (airing in syndication this fall in Pittsburgh on WPMY, Channel 22).

NBC Photo: Frank Ockenfels "Heroes" cast 2.0

At some point I hope to write about many of these programs, but first let's talk "Heroes," returning for its second season on Sept. 24. I was on the set yesterday morning, but I couldn't get Pittsburgh native Zach Quinto to discuss his casting as Spock in the new "Star Trek" movie (with his connection to director J.J. Abrams through "Heroes" co-star Greg Grunberg -- Abrams and Grunberg are friends who worked together on "Alias" -- it seems like the stars have aligned; maybe Paramount will officially announce Quinto's casting in San Diego this weekend at Comic-Con), I did get some hints about the second season of "Heroes." Clues, more than outright spoilers, follow.

On Stage 12 at Sunset Gower Studios, "Heroes" creator Tim Kring explains that while season one comprised one chapter in the "Heroes" story, season two will be broken into at least two chapters, giving new viewers more entry points to the series.

Series star Masi Oka, AKA Hiro, gives a group of TV critics a tour of the "Heroes" set and I was quite surprised by our first stop: The apartment set of deceased artist Isaac Mendez. I sort of figured that set wouldn't be used anymore, but is. And its current occupant, whose identity remains secret, has set up a lab of some sort in the apartment.

Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Peter Petrelli, is being interviewed by some reporters in the corner and he's no longer scruffy. He's gotten a haircut and all GQed up. And now his brother, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), is sporting a crazy-man beard. Hmmm...

It appears genetics professor Dr. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has a new roommate, and judging by all the dolls and the dollhouse in his apartment, it's a little girl. Molly Walker (Adair Tishler), perhaps?

An outdoor street set indicates some portion of the new season will be set in Ireland, and there's an interior set for an Irish pub.

"This is where Hiro goes back in time and saves 'The Black Donnellys,'" Oka quips.

Krings says other locations will include Japan, Egypt, the Ukraine, Haiti, Mexico and Central America, where a new character, Maya (Dania Ramirez), and her twin brother come from.

"She's on the run from the cops," Ramirez says. "Her ability is dealing more with the darker side, which has caused the cops to be after her. She's trying to get to the U.S. and its making her journey to try to cross borders harder."

Her dialogue will be largely in Spanish and subtitled in English until she begins to integrate with other "Heroes" regulars deeper into the season. No word on whether her twin brother has powers.

The Bennets are now living in hiding in a luxurious house in California that's been built on Stage 4 (complete with "Brady Bunch"-like Astroturf grass in the backyard!). At this stop on the tour we also get a demonstration of some of the prosthetic effects, including Claire's crushed face, which contorts wildly, and Peter's head, with a huge shard of glass sticking out the back. Eww and cool!

Noticeably absent from the set and "Heroes" press conference is first-season series regular Leonard Roberts as D.L. Hawkins. He's also not listed in press materials.

"I wouldn't draw any conclusions from that," Kring says.

I snooped around near the cast trailers and I did find one labeled "D.L.," so maybe he will return. Or maybe his trailer just hasn't been assigned to someone new.

Spike TV "Kill Point" hostages await rescue.

Spike TV's "The Kill Point" did extremely well in Pittsburgh, drawing a 4.3 household rating that was almost three times the 1.5 national household rating of Sunday's premiere. That's not a big surprise. In recent years Pittsburghers have shown a large appetite for TV shows with a local connection (CBS's "The Guardian" always did better in the ratings locally than nationally), which is why the Post-Gazette covers them so extensively.

But there are exceptions: TNT's Pittsburgh-set "Heartland" disappointed on TNT earlier this summer, drawing 4.3 million viewers nationally in its premiere (its ratings were better nationally than in Pittsburgh, too). In contrast, TNT's "Saving Grace" took over "Heartland's" 10 p.m. Monday time slot this week and was watched by 6.4 million viewers in its premiere, holding a far greater percentage of its "Closer" lead-in.