Gotham (TV series)


Gotham is an American action crime drama television series developed by Bruno Heller, produced by Warner Bros. Television and based on characters published by DC Comics and appearing in the Batman franchise, primarily those of James Gordon and Bruce Wayne. The series premiered on Fox on September 22, 2014, and concluded on April 25, 2019. The series stars Ben McKenzie as Jim Gordon and David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne. The series was originally intended to focus only on Gordon's early days with the Gotham City Police Department, but they subsequently included the Bruce Wayne character and the origin stories of several Batman villains, including Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Hugo Strange, Solomon Grundy, Mad Hatter, Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa al Ghul, Bane, and The Joker.
Development for a prequel series based on Batman began in September 2013, with Bruno Heller hired by Fox to serve as a writer and executive producer. In March 2014, Fox originally ordered 16 episodes for its first season before expanding it to 22. Filming primarily took place across New York City.
Since its broadcast, Gotham received positive reviews from critics, with many praising the performances, production values, writing, villains, character development and the fresh and fun take on the Batman mythos. The show takes creative liberty in changing its characters in ways previously unseen before; giving viewers an origin story of each character before they transform into the legendary heroes and villains known today. Despite initially high viewership, ratings began dropping considerably throughout the series' run. However, it continued to attract consistent acclaim from critics as the series progressed. In May 2018, Fox renewed the series for a fifth and final season, consisting of 12 episodes, which premiered on January 3, 2019, and concluded on April 25, 2019.

Plot

The series follows Gotham City Police Department recruit James Gordon, who is paired with detective Harvey Bullock to solve crimes in Gotham City. At the time, Gotham's criminal underworld is emerging after the murder of billionaire Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, whose son Bruce is in care of their family butler Alfred Pennyworth.
In the first season, Gordon and Bullock are tasked with solving the murder of the Waynes. Jim is also aided by detectives Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, forensics scientist Edward Nygma and district attorney Harvey Dent. In the GCPD, Jim meets and falls in love with Dr. Leslie Thompkins, which angers Jim's ex-fiancée Barbara Kean, who turns into a criminal and attempts to terrorise Jim's life by committing crimes, such as attempting to kill Lee, eventually leading to her arrest. While solving his parents' murder, Bruce befriends street orphans Selina Kyle and Ivy Pepper. Meanwhile, crime lord Fish Mooney, Harvey's ex-girlfriend, and gangster Oswald Cobblepot, who finds himself allied with Mooney, are at war with two other crime lords Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni.
In the second season, after the death of Mooney, Oswald takes over Mooney's gang. Theo Galavan arrives in Gotham, with his sister Tabitha, to run as mayor while in secret, he plans to use his role to gain revenge against the Wayne Family. Galavan kidnaps Bruce, but Bruce is rescued by Jim, Alfred, and Selina with the help of Oswald and his gang. After, Jim kills Galavan, whose body is recovered by Arkham Asylum chief psychiatrist Hugo Strange, who turns Galavan into the ancient vigilante assassin Azrael, who seeks Jim to kill him for revenge but is blown up by Oswald using a bazooka. Oswald is sent to Arkham, where he discovers a secret facility run by Wayne Enterprises called Indian Hill, where Strange is experimenting on inmates including Oswald and Barbara, who turns them into sane citizens. Jim investigates Indian Hill, which is revealed to be controlled by the Court of Owls. With the help of technical expert Lucius Fox, Alfred and Bruce, Jim shuts down Indian Hill. However, unbeknownst to everyone, a revived Mooney escapes with a bus of monsters created by Strange who now roam around Gotham.
In the third season, Jim has become a bounty hunter working to track down the escaped monsters. He is confronted by reporter Valerie Vale about his career as a bounty hunter and later goes into a brief relationship before she leaves Gotham. Jim attempts to reconcile with Leslie, who is now dating Falcone's son Mario putting Jim at odds with him. Nygma comes to terms with his alternate personality the "Riddler" and is rivaled with Oswald in the criminal underworld. Jervis Tetch comes to Gotham to find his sister Alice, who holds a virus that can turn one insane. The GCPD's new captain Nathaniel Barns was infected by the "Tetch virus" turning him into the Executioner, whose goal is to execute all criminals but who is stopped by the GCPD. The Court grab hold of the virus and use it to infect Gotham, however, Mooney kidnaps Strange to create the cure. Meanwhile, Bruce seeks out Ra's al Ghul, the "demon's head" he was told to find and leader of the League of Shadows, who trains Bruce to one day become his heir. Although Bruce is forced to kill Alfred, Ra's tells Bruce to revive him using a mystical well as Ra's flees.
In the fourth season, Gordon and Bullock continue to solve crimes in Gotham City; Bruce patrols Gotham's streets at night as a masked vigilante; Cobblepot begins a campaign to dominate the city's underworld by profiting off of licensed crime; Nygma finds his mental faculties diminishing as a side-effect of having been flash-frozen; Jonathan Crane embraces his role as the fear-mongering Scarecrow; Ivy is transformed into a full adult after ingesting drugs from an apothecary; Butch Gilzean becomes the undead Solomon Grundy after his corpse is dumped into a cursed swamp; Sofia Falcone surfaces to reclaim her father's criminal empire; Ra's al Ghul attempts to push Bruce into fulfilling his destiny as "Gotham's Dark Knight"; and Jerome Valeska forms a cabal of criminals to plunge the city into anarchy. Although Jerome is killed, he manages to drive his twin brother Jeremiah insane by exposing him to Crane's chemicals. Jeremiah and Ra's al Ghul ultimately manage to render Gotham City an evacuated No Man's Land.
In the fifth and final season, Gordon and his allies work to restore order in Gotham City after it is cut-off from the rest of the world and all of the major criminals have each claimed their own territory in the desolate city. Jeremiah attempts to cement his "bond" with Bruce by reenacting the night of his parents' deaths; Cobblepot and Nygma join forces to escape from Gotham for good; and Barbara gives up a life of crime when she becomes pregnant with Gordon's child after a one-night stand. Leslie later returns and marries Gordon. Politician Theresa Walker seemingly sends the military group Delta Force, led by Gordon's old army companion Eduardo Dorrance, to help the GCPD in their war against the overwhelming criminal populace. After transforming a mortally wounded Dorrance into the superhuman Bane, Walker reveals herself as Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Nyssa, who seeks to destroy Gotham as part of her vendetta against Bruce and Barbara for the death of her father. After Bane's defeat, Gordon is appointed commissioner of the GCPD while Bruce leaves Gotham and promises to return.
In the series finale, set ten years later, Bruce returns to Gotham just in time for Wayne Tower's reopening. Gordon is preparing his retirement until he discovers that Nygma has escaped his imprisonment from Arkham. Nygma kidnaps Mayor James with the intention of destroying Wayne Tower. Nygma is then arrested again but is freed by Oswald, who was freed from Blackgate. Bullock frames himself for murder of the guard who broke Nygma out of prison although Jim frees Bullock and learns that Jeremiah was the true culprit. Jeremiah, who faked his brain-dead state awaiting Bruce's return, kidnaps Jim's daughter Barbara Lee, whom Bruce rescues while wearing a bat-like costume. Later, Jim shines the signal on top of GCPD where he is visited by Bullock and Alfred who oversee the same bat dressed vigilante that saved Jim and his daughter who unbeknownst to Bullock and, perhaps Jim, is actually Bruce. Bruce finally fulfills his destiny and becomes Gotham's dark knight.

Episodes

Cast and characters

In September 2013, it was reported that Fox was developing a TV series centred on James Gordon's early days as a police detective and the origin stories of various Batman villains. In February 2014, McKenzie was cast as the lead character. When describing his character in an interview, McKenzie stated that Gordon "is a truly honest man. The last honest man in a city full of crooked people. He's not an anti-hero, he's a true hero – but he will have to compromise."
In early 2014, it was announced that Logue was cast as Harvey Bullock, a character who serves as James Gordon's ethically conflicted and compromised partner in the GCPD.
In March 2014, Mazouz was cast as Bruce Wayne. When discussing his character, Mazouz stated that "you never got to explore what Bruce Wayne was going through or his grieving process or what his anger makes him do. At this point in his life, he's angry, he's scared, he's compulsive, and he's lonely. He's looking for any meaning to his parents' death. You'll see the things that he'll do to himself and to other people while he's grieving, and you'll see how he becomes a regular kid again."
In February 2014, Pertwee was cast as Alfred Pennyworth in the series. Pertwee's character takes inspiration from the iteration of Alfred Pennyworth.
In February 2014, Taylor was cast as Oswald Cobblepot, an intelligent low-level thug who used to work for Fish Mooney.
In February 2014, Richards was confirmed to have been cast in the show. Richards portrays James Gordon's fiancée, Barbara Kean, though their relationship deteriorates over the course of the season. She renews a past romantic relationship with Renee Montoya.
In March 2014, Bicondova was confirmed to have joined the show's cast. According to Bicondova, "The main word that I can think of to characterize Selina is that she's just surviving. She's very mischievous and very challenging to play at times, because she feels emotions but she hides them. I realized that she isn't just a street thief and a survivor; she's actually a normal girl." Lili Simmons portrays an adult Selina in the series finale.
  • Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma / The Riddler:
Smith joined the cast in April 2014. In May 2014, Smith was promoted to a series regular. "What I love about the character's history is how diverse it is", says Smith. "When I was auditioning for Gotham, I got a handful of comics from different decades, so I had a perspective—it's been around for 75 years, which is a long time. I wanted to see an evolution of the comics—and of the character. Going from this quite innocent, well-intentioned, joyful person to starting to find this other part of him that he didn't know he had. He's a person who's constantly abused, and it's out of anger and exhaustion, and then realizing that when you start taking control of situations like that, you can gain power that way—it'll be something that he can start to enjoy."
Morena Baccarin was cast in October 2014. Baccarin was promoted to a series regular for the second season, after recurring in the first season.
In February 2014, Guevara was confirmed for the series. Descriptions revealed her character to be a police captain at the GCPD and James Gordon's direct superior.
Cartagena joined the series in May 2014, but she was not a regular for the rest of the series after season one.
Stewart-Jones joined the series in May 2014, but he was not a regular for the rest of the series after season one.
Doman first appeared in the series pilot as Carmine Falcone, a mob boss with ties to James Gordon's father. Doman continued to appear throughout the season.
Smith was cast as Fish Mooney in February 2014. She appeared throughout the season until her character was seemingly killed in the show's season 1 finale after being dropped off the side of a tall building by Penguin. When asked if her character will return in future seasons, Smith replied, "If she survives the fall. I signed for a year. I don't think any of us really thought that Fish would have the life that she's had or be one of the favorite characters on the show. She was there to service a purpose, as far as helping to tell Penguin's story. I'm a smart girl. I understood I was there to service Penguin. If she survives, I would definitely be willing to do whatever was necessary to continue servicing the story of Gotham''." In January 2016 it was announced that Smith would be reprising the role for the second half of season 2.
In June 2015, Frain was announced as a series regular only for season 2.
In June 2015, Lucas was announced as series regular for season 2.
In March 2015, Chalk was announced as Lucius Fox, and was promoted to a series regular for the second season.
Fish Mooney's right-hand man and mob enforcer. Victor Zsasz later "worked on" Butch, causing him to obey Oswald Cobblepot's every command, although this was later undone by Tabitha Galavan. Powell was promoted to a series regular for the second season.
In July 2014, it was announced that Harvey Dent would appear in the show. D'Agosto was revealed to portray Harvey Dent in October 2014, and was promoted to a series regular for the second season.
In July 2015, Chiklis was announced as a series regular for season two as Captain Nathaniel Barnes.
A young woman and old friend of Selina's who develops pheromone-based powers after consuming a mysterious elixir. The character was portrayed by Clare Foley as a recurring character in the first and second seasons. Starting with the second episode of season 3, she was promoted to series regular with the role recast with Geha. Peyton List takes over the role in the fourth and fifth seasons, as a recurring character.
In August 2016, Samuel was announced as a series regular for season 3. He is described as a psychotic hypnotist with a steadfast desire to find his missing sister Alice.
The daughter of Carmine Falcone who is returning to Gotham to help Gordon take down the Penguin. Reed was announced to portray Sofia Falcone and upgraded to a series regular for season 4.
The powerful head of the League of Assassins with a keen eye on Bruce Wayne. In March 2017, Siddig was announced to portray Ra's in the season 3 finale before being upgraded to a series regular for season 4.

Production

Development

Heller said that he was initially hesitant to do a series about superheroes because he didn't know how to write about people with super powers. He also stated, "I don't think Batman works very well on TV". Heller's son suggested that the focus of the series should be Commissioner Gordon, and Heller developed the idea of Gordon investigating Bruce Wayne's parents' murder. That idea "gave us a starting point and allowed us to tell the saga from a much earlier point than before".
On September 24, 2013, Fox announced that it had bypassed the traditional pilot and placed an order for Gotham to be written and executive produced by Heller. Gotham received a series order from Fox on May 5, 2014, with the first season reported to consist of 16 episodes rather than the standard 13 or 22. On October 13, Fox ordered an additional six episodes for the show, bringing the first season order to a full 22 episodes. In February 2014, it was reported that production would begin in New York City in March, and filming finished on March 24, 2015, for the first season. On January 17, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season. The show was officially renewed by Fox for a 22-episode third season on March 16, 2016. In May 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 21, 2017. On May 13, 2018, Fox renewed the series for a fifth and final season originally consisting of 10 episodes then later increased to 12. The season began production in July that year, and premiered on January 3, 2019.
Fox Entertainment President David Madden said that the show's production team "have masterfully honored the mythology of Gotham and brought it to life with depth, emotion, and memorable high drama."

Casting

In January 2014, rumors arose that Donal Logue would portray Gordon in the series. Logue denied these rumors via Twitter. Logue was eventually cast as Harvey Bullock. In February 2014, Ben McKenzie was cast as James Gordon. McKenzie had shot a previous pilot with Heller for CBS, which led to Heller writing his characterization of Gordon with McKenzie in mind. Casting Bruce Wayne was challenging in part because, as Heller put it "It's such an important casting and it would've been very dangerous to cast the wrong person" adding that the casting process for Wayne "took a lot of negotiation, a lot of back and forth so that everyone was happy and comfortable." In early March 2014, David Mazouz was cast as Bruce Wayne while Camren Bicondova was cast as Selina Kyle. At the 2014 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, DC's Jim Cunningham said that Renee Montoya would be a character on the show.

Music

In July 2014, it was announced that Graeme Revell would be the composer for the series.

Release

The pilot was screened at the Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment panel at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2014. The series premiered on Nine Network in Australia on October 12. In Canada, it is shown in simulcast on CTV and reran on M3. In New Zealand, it premiered on TV2 on September 28. In the United Kingdom, it premiered on Channel 5 on October 13. The channel also screen the second season but after failing to screen the third season it was announced in August 2017 that the season would premiere exclusively on DVD and Blu-ray and be on Netflix from September 1. In Ireland, it premiered on RTÉ2 on January 26, 2015. In March 2018, it was announced that E4 had acquired the rights to air the fourth season on UK television.
In September 2014, Warner Bros. sold the series' worldwide video on demand rights to Netflix. The 100th episode and series finale aired on April 25, 2019.

Reception

Ratings

In early October 2014, market research firm Survata polled more than 1,400 viewers to determine that Gotham was the major TV premiere, out of 24, that viewers were most interested to watch that year.
In Australia the first and second episodes received 1.24 million and 896,000 viewers, respectively. The timeshifted broadcasts were watched by 1.43 and 1.03 million, respectively. The Canadian debut got 3.38 million viewers, making it the second most-watched telecast of the night and week. The UK premiere was watched by 3.20 million viewers. The airings on the 1-hour and 24-hour timeshift channels were watched by 597,000 and 142,000 viewers, respectively. In New Zealand, it was the most-watched program on the network, with 278,540 viewers. The time shifted version was watched by 39,580 viewers.

Critical response

Season 1 of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the season a rating of 76% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The site's consensus states, "High production values, a talented cast, and an appealingly stylized approach to the Batman mythos help Gotham overcome its occasionally familiar themes." Metacritic gives the season a score of 71 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
David Hinckley of New York Daily News praised the first episode for playing "like a 45-minute movie, with stunning visuals that never feel like a shrunken TV version of the Batman films against which it will inevitably be measured" and lauded Logue's Harvey Bullock as a scene-stealer. The San Jose Mercury News Chuck Barney called the pilot "a fun, dark, moody and well-paced first hour" and McKenzie's James Gordon a commanding lead, while saying Jada Pinkett Smith is "an absolute blast to watch." Matt Brennan of Indiewire said that Gotham was "the perfect antidote to superhero fatigue", praising the "bright, pop-inflected aesthetic, with urban backdrops that appear as though cut out from the panels of a comic book."
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly criticized the first half of season one along with the mid-season premiere. He found the personalities of the most characters "already nearly fully formed; all they can become is more or less than what they already are." Jensen added that Gordon not being Gotham's redeemer hurt the premise of the show and heavily criticized what he saw as the under-use of Jada Pinkett Smith's character. In the end, he does not see Gotham "as a show for comic book fanboys" but rather as "a post-fanboy, or fanboy-irrelevant." Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club lamented that "there have been dozens of interpretations of Batman and his city in the 75 years since their creation, and Gotham has trouble finding the right balance of influences".
The second season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 74% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 6.58/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While still tonally uneven in season two, Gotham is back with a renewed focus, moving away from disjointed case-of-the-week plots into a darker, more stable serialized story." Metacritic gives the season a score of 62 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The third season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 74% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Gothams third season lets the series' freak flag fly to thrilling effect, but it is far more fun to spend time with the supervillains than virtually any of the other characters".
The fourth season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 77% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 6.89/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though at times suffering from a narrative overload that undermines the drama, Gothams fourth season ends strong, focusing on Bruce Wayne's transition into the beloved hero its audience awaits".
The fifth and final season of Gotham received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 85% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 7.17/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Gotham concludes in a glorious free-for-all that takes full advantage of the series' dense roster of colorful villains, making for an extended climax that is both daffy and thrilling".

Awards and nominations

Other media

On February 1, 2016, Fox began airing episodes of a five-part motion comic titled Gotham Stories, meant to tie into the series' second season. On January 31, 2017, the first Gotham tie-in novel was published by Titan. Dawn of Darkness by Jason Starr is described as an "official prequel" to the TV series, set two months prior to the beginning of the series. The following year, another novel was released written by the same author. Entitled City of Monsters, the book centered around Gordon during the events between seasons 2 and 3 of the series.