Yes and no. What really tanked Heroes was the network deciding that they liked the season 1 characters so much that they made them change it from an anthology show that was going to have different characters each season to just bringing back everyone from the first season. Sylar was a great one season villain. Trying to turn a psycho murder into a sympathetic anti-hero was just a bad idea all around. The show still would have tanked, even without the writer strike. It probably just would have taken a bit longer.