It's the closest anyone has had to official confirmation on the fate of "Heroes" on NBC, but is it enough?

Greg Grunberg, who plays Matt Parkman on the struggling series, told Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello Wednesday that "Heroes" was coming back. Was it because someone from the network told him? Maybe a producer? Nope. It's because of what they filmed to end the season.

"We wrapped yesterday, and the [final episode] is nowhere near a series finale," Grunberg said. "It is cliffhanger-y and exciting, but it is nowhere near an end to a series that people are so invested in."

While the fact that NBC did not order Tim Kring and company to tie up the series is a tip toward optimism, Grunberg still might be a little early in making guarantees that the show will return.

The fact is, "Heroes" is far off its viewership marks, not just against last season, but even the season before. It is averaging a 3.5 rating/5 share, according to Fast National ratings from The Nielsen Co., down more than 25 percent from last year, and nearly 47 percent from the year before.

It's also below NBC's season average so far of non-news, non-event programming, which currently sits at 4.2/7, putting it in third place behind CBS at 7.4/12 and ABC at 5.7/9, and ahead of a pre-"American Idol" Fox.

During November sweeps, "Heroes" typically finished toward the bottom of NBC's shows, besting only "The Jay Leno Show" and "Parks & Recreation." During the final week of sweeps, however, "Heroes" managed only a 3.1/5, tying with "Parks & Recreation" for second to last, ahead of only a single episode of "Jay Leno."

"Heroes" remains NBC's worst-performing Monday night program with its 3.5/5 average behind "Sing-Off" at 4.3/7, the now-canceled "Trauma" at 3.7/6, and "Jay Leno" at 3.7/6.

"Heroes" returned this week with its first episodes since the end of November sweeps with one of its worst outings ever. It averaged a 3.2/5, but fell to a 2.9/4 -- a series low -- in its second hour, which happens to be its new timeslot with "Chuck" returns next week.

Grunberg, however, says you can't just look at the ratings when it comes to "Heroes." DVD sales have been strong, and it remains popular internationally.

And while he feels "Heroes" will get that fifth season, and a chance to hit 100 episodes, he did hint that it could definitely be the show's last. Giving an end date, like what "Lost" did on ABC, would help the writers find a way to bring the show to a close.

But whether NBC agrees is another story. The fact that there's a cliffhanger doesn't necessarily mean "Heroes" is a shoo-in for renewal. Even Grunberg admits that talk about a fifth season and a desire to hit the 100-episode mark is wishful thinking on his part.

"At least that's what I would like to see happen," he told Ausiello. "They take so much care in writing the show that I would hope we get the chance to end it right."

"Heroes" moves to Mondays at 9 p.m. ET beginning Jan. 11.