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Gotham is a TV series based on James Gordon's early days as a policeman in Gotham City and Bruce Wayne's path to becoming Batman, as well as the origins of several of Batman's rogues' gallery such as Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Bane, Ventriloquist and the Joker.

The series ran for five seasons which aired from September 22, 2014 to April 25, 2019.

Overview

Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?

Gotham is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist, Rome), Gotham follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.

Growing up in Gotham City's surrounding suburbs, James Gordon (Ben McKenzie, Southland, The O.C.) romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, Barbara Kean (Erin Richards, Open Grave, Breaking In), Gordon is living his dream – even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid.

Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue, Sons of Anarchy, Terriers, Vikings, Copper), as the two stumble upon the city's highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes' hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, Bruce (David Mazouz, Touch), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy's profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.

As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham's criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith, The Matrix films, HawthoRNe, Collateral), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction's most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor, The Walking Dead, Another Earth).

Although the crime drama will follow Gordon's turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara, Burn Notice), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, Alfred (Sean Pertwee, Camelot, Elementary). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he's destined to be.

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 September 22, 2014 May 4, 2015
2 22 September 21, 2015 May 23, 2016
3 22 September 19, 2016 June 5, 2017
4 22 September 21, 2017 May 17, 2018
5 12 January 3, 2019 April 25, 2019

Reception

The series marked the live-action debut of many iconic Batman characters like the Ventriloquist, Hugo Strange, Professor Pyg, Sensei, Mutant Leader, Renee Montoya, Thomas Elliot, Leslie Thompkins, Sarah Essen and the Red Hood Gang. Obscure and forgotten Batman villains like the Executioner, Magpie, Lunkhead, Cornelius Stirk, Jane Doe, Headhunter and the Toymaker were also introduced over the course of the show's run. The plots often drew inspiration from comic storylines that were released just prior or even during the series' release, such as the plot surrounding the Court of Owls, as well as adapting characters that were only introduced in the comics very recently, like the Dentist, Mother, Dollmaker, Talon or the modern version of Copperhead, which was based on the Arkhamverse incarnation. Classic villains like the Ventriloquist, Mad Hatter, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Bane or Firefly were given new and unique origin stories, while others like Mr. Freeze's genesis story were given an unexpected twist.

Legacy

New villains created specifically for the show like The Mask and Bridgit Pike were adapted for use in comic book continuity. The idea of a young Penguin working for Carmine Falcone and then filling the power vacuum after Falcone's retirement served as an inspiration for the comic storyline Batman: The War of Jokes and Riddles. Actress Peyton List later reprised her role as Poison Ivy for the 2019 animated movie Batman: Hush, a role which she already played in the fourth and fifth season of Gotham. Whether or not coincidental, the comics also played around the concept of multiple Jokers as depicted in Batman: Three Jokers, with it first being teased in 2016 (two years into Gotham's run) before then being realized in 2020 (a year following Gotham's conclusion). The idea of a legacy to the Joker persona would be slightly touched upon in the 2024 psychological musical film Joker: Folie à Deux.

Renee Montoya actress Victoria Cartagena would later reprise the role in the third season of Batwoman. The concept of Penguin working for Falcone would later be used again for the 2022 film The Batman, with the character set to get his own spin-off miniseries detailing his rise to power, with Sofia Falcone also serving once again as his nemesis.

See Also

References

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