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 Batman's rogues gallery.
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. 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 is a crime drama that explores the origin stories of eventual Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) Commissioner James Gordon and the rogues’ gallery of villains that made Gotham City infamous.
In the first season, Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock are tasked in solving the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents which is also witnessed by petty thief Selina "Cat" Kyle. In the GCPD, Gordon is aided by forensics scientist Edward Nygma, detectives Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen and district attorney Harvey Dent. Meanwhile, a war between two crime families led by crime bosses Carmine Falcone and Fish Mooney is occurring underground with gangster Oswald Cobblepot forced in the middle of it. At the end of the season, Cobblepot kills Mooney, claiming himself the "King of Gotham".
In the second season, Theo Galavan arrives in Gotham, with his sister Tabitha, with orders from the Order of St. Dumas to kill Bruce. However, Gordon, Cobblepot, Selina, and the GCPD were able to rescue Bruce. Elsewhere in Arkham, experiments are being held in a facility called Indian Hill run by Professor Hugo Strange turning inmates into monsters. After Gordon kills Galavan, Galavan's corpse is retrieved and revived by Strange who converts Galavan into the century old vigilante “Azrael”, hellbent on getting his revenge on Gordon. With the help of the tech expert Lucius Fox and the GCPD, Gordon manages to shut down Indian Hill. Unbeknownst to them, a bus of monsters escape including a revived Mooney and a clone of Bruce.
In the third season, Gordon becomes a bounty hunter working to track down the monsters and is confronted by reporter Valerie Vale, with whom Gordon has a brief relationship before she leaves Gotham. Using Valarie's advice, Gordon attempts to make amends with his ex-lover Leslie Thompkins, who has a new partner Mario Falcone, Carmine's son, putting Gordon at odds with him. Elsewhere, Nygma comes to terms with his "Riddler" persona; Jervis Tetch's sister Alice contains a virus, later known as the "Tetch Virus", which eventually the Court grab hold of and use against Gotham. Mooney uses Strange to create a cure against the virus. Meanwhile, Bruce's clone is adopted by the secret organisation the Court of Owls while the real Bruce is told to find Ra's al Ghul, aka the Demon's Head, to one day become Gotham's destined Dark Knight. Bruce decides to become a masked vigilante, with support from his butler Alfred.
In the fourth season, Cobblepot establishes a new law of "licensed crime" allowing him to dominate the criminal underworld while Bruce attempts to rid the city of crime as a masked vigilante. Meanwhile, Jonathan Crane embraces his fear-mongering "Scarecrow" persona while Jerome Valeska forms a cabal of criminals to plunge Gotham into anarchy. After Jerome is killed, his twin brother Jeremiah becomes insane and follows into Jerome's footsteps. Later, Ra's and Jeremiah manage to render Gotham into a No Man's Land.
In the fifth and final season, Gordon and his allies attempt to restore Gotham with the help of his old army companion Eduardo Dorrance. Dorrance is converted into the superhuman "Bane", by Ra's daughter Nyssa, who takes command of the military. Meanwhile, Bruce has his final confrontation with Jeremiah. Bruce leaves Gotham for extensive training while Jeremiah is sent to Arkham. Eventually, the military turn on Bane and Gotham is restored. Gordon is promoted to Commissioner of the GCPD.
A decade later, Bruce returns as a bat-dressed vigilante. Jeremiah, who faked being catatonic for a decade, escapes Arkham and kidnaps Jim's daughter but is rescued by the vigilante. Afterward, Gordon shines a spotlight on top of GCPD grabbing the attention of the vigilante, whom Jim calls a "friend".
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.<ref name="Mazouz/Bicondova"></ref> 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, ""Gotham"s 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, "Gotham"s 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".
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.