Gotham Information

Gotham is an American crime television series developed by Bruno Heller, based on characters appearing in and published by DC Comics in their Batman franchise, primarily those of James Gordon and Bruce Wayne. The series stars Ben McKenzie as the young Gordon, while Heller executive produces along with Danny Cannon, who also directed the pilot. As originally conceived, the series would have served as a straightforward story of Gordon's early days on the Gotham City police force. The idea evolved not only to include the Wayne character, but also to tell the origin stories of several Batman villains. The first season order originally consisted of 16 episodes, but was later extended to a total of 22. Gotham premiered on Fox on September 22, 2014.

Premise

A new recruit in the Gotham City Police Department, James Gordon, is paired with veteran detective Harvey Bullock to solve one of Gotham's highest-profile cases ever: the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. During his investigation, Gordon meets the Waynes' son Bruce, now in the care of his butler Alfred Pennyworth. Meeting the younger Wayne further compels Gordon to catch the mysterious killer. Along the way, Gordon gets involved with Gotham's Mafia families and associates, including gangster Fish Mooney. Eventually, Gordon is forced to form an unlikely friendship with Wayne, one that will help shape the boy's future in becoming the Dark Knight.

The series will also tell the origin stories of several Batman villains, including Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Hugo Strange, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, and Victor Zsasz.

Cast and characters

Main

• Ben McKenzie as James Gordon: A new detective at Gotham City Police Department working to find the man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents and fight the corruption infecting Gotham City's Police Department.
• Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock: Gordon's partner, a seemingly corrupt and brutish detective.
• David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne: The orphaned son of Thomas and Martha Wayne, now under the care of Alfred Pennyworth. Traumatized by the murder of his parents, Bruce obsessively trains himself in a lifelong crusade that will lead him to become Batman in adulthood.
• Zabryna Guevara as Sarah Essen: The Captain of the Gotham City Police Department homicide squad and the boss of James Gordon and Harvey Bullock.
• Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth: The butler of Bruce Wayne who raises him after the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. He is worried about Bruce's obsession with overcoming fear, fearing that he will hurt himself.
• Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot: An up-and-coming mobster in Fish Mooney's gang who is nicknamed "Penguin" by his thugs; has a lethal falling out with Mooney after he is discovered to be police informant, as well as tipping off Don Falcone. Falcone orders a hit on him, but he escapes with the help of Gordon, and later aligns himself with Don Maroni. This turns out to be a ruse, however; Cobblepot is secretly working for Carmine Falcone following a deal he made when they first met.
• Erin Richards as Barbara Kean: James Gordon's fiance who is revealed to have had a relationship with Renee Montoya.
• Camren Bicondova as Selina "Cat" Kyle: A young homeless thief. Since witnessing the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Cat has been lingering around the borders of Wayne Manor.
• Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma: A coroner and forensics operative who works for the Gotham City Police Department and often presents his information in riddles.
• Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney: A night club owner and mobster who leads a gang allied to Don Falcone, against whom she intends to make a move with the Russian Mob as allies. Her mother was a prostitute who would often service Falcone's men; Mooney has despised Falcone ever since. She operates Gotham's red light district despite the heavy presence of the Italian Mafia. Fish Mooney has a good relationship with Detective Bullock, who often goes to her for information.
• Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya: A detective in the Major Crimes Unit of the Gotham City Police Department. She was revealed to have had a relationship with Barbara Kean.
• Andrew Stewart-Jones as Crispus Allen: A detective in the Major Crimes Unit of the Gotham City Police Department.
• John Doman as Carmine Falcone: A Mafia Don and businessman who is Fish Mooney's superior and has specific members of both the Gotham City government and the Gotham City Police Department on his payroll. However, his hold on Gotham is slipping and rivals such as the Maroni family and his former allies such as Fish Mooney and Russian mob boss Nikolai plan to move against him. Several caporegimes within his own family have also shown signs of treachery as well.

Recurring

• Richard Kind as Aubrey James: The Mayor of Gotham City who is in Carmine Falcone's pocket. Despite hiding behind a congenial manner, he is ultimately dictated by indifference and disdain for those who endanger his political and criminal associations, particularly Gordon.
• Drew Powell as Butch Gilzean: Fish Mooney's right hand man and mob enforcer.
• Carol Kane as Gertrud Kapelput: The overly possessive, heavily-accented mother of Oswald Cobblepot.
• David Zayas as Salvatore Maroni: A Mafia Don and rival of Carmine Falcone who owns a restaurant. Unbeknownst to Maroni, his confidante Oswald Cobblepot is secretly an informant for Falcone.
• Makenzie Leigh as Liza: A singer who has applied for an opening at Fish Mooney's night club and subsequently an agent for Mooney to seduce, and eventually murder Don Falcone. Oswald Cobblepot later finds out her secret.
• Nicholas D'Agosto as Harvey Dent: A "handsome, warm and engaging" Assistant District Attorney. He works with James Gordon to find the man who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Guest stars

• Clare Foley as Ivy Pepper: The abused daughter of Mario Pepper, the man who was framed for the Wayne murders. She enjoys tending to her plants. After her mother committed suicide by cutting her wrists, Ivy Pepper escaped from juvenile hall where she hangs out in an underground area where the street kids hang out. Her appearance is said to creep out Selina Kyle
• Kyle Massey as Macky: A kid living on the streets of Gotham who evades capture from Dollmaker's minions. Harvey Bullock and Alfred Pennyworth later interrogate Macky on where to find Selina Kyle following an attack by assassins.
• Danny Mastrogiorgio as Frankie Carbone: A made man in the Maroni crime family and the Don's chief enforcer. Cobblepot kills him with the help of two mobsters under the ruse of getting killed in action during Nikolai's assassination.
• Jeremy Davidson as Nikolai: A Russian mob boss heading an organization allied with Carmine Falcone that conspired with Fish Mooney. He was later killed in a surprise attack by Oswald Cobblepot and Maroni's men.
• Anthony Carrigan as Victor Zsasz: A sadistic hitman who works for Carmine Falcone. He carves a tally mark into his skin for every person he kills.
• Al Sapienza as Dick Lovecraft: A tycoon who James Gordon and Harvey Dent suspect on being behind the deaths of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. He was later killed by assassins working for an unknown mastermind. Dick's death was passed off as a suicide by Mayor Aubrey James.
• Lesley-Ann Brandt as Copperhead: Larissa Diaz is a skilled assassin and one of the killers hired to take out Selina Kyle and Dick Lovecraft. While she and the killers assisting her were successful in killing Lovecraft, Selina Kyle was able to avoid the assassins.
• Morena Baccarin as Dr. Leslie Thompkins: A medical practitioner at Arkham Asylum who was a friend to the Wayne family.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (million)
Viewers = 8.21	ProdCode = 276072	ShortSummary = Rookie detective James Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock are assigned to the case of the murder of Thomas (Grayson McCouch) and Martha Wayne (Brette Taylor), which was witnessed by street orphan Selina Kyle. Gordon meets the Waynes' son, Bruce, empathizing with him due to his witnessing of his own father's death. Their investigation leads them to a parolee named Mario Pepper, whom Bullock shoots when he flees and attacks Gordon. However, they discover that Pepper had been framed leading them to mobstress Fish Mooney. Mooney has them captured but they are saved by Mooney's superior and Mafia boss, Carmine Falcone. In exchange, Falcone orders Gordon to kill Oswald Cobblepot, a low-level member of Mooney's gang and informant for Gotham MCU investigators Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen. Gordon fakes Cobblepot's death, telling him to never return to Gotham. Gordon and Bullock are celebrated for solving the Wayne murders, but Gordon confesses the truth to Bruce and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth. As Gordon leaves, Kyle is seen lingering around the borders of Wayne Manor.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 7.45	ProdCode = 4X6652	ShortSummary = The murder of a homeless man leads Gordon and Bullock to investigate the abductions of street kids by Patti and Doug (Lili Taylor and Frank Whaley), underlings of the Dollmaker posing as members of the Mayor's Homeless Outreach Program. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot takes refuge in a rented trailer after his faked death, plotting his return to Gotham City. After Patti and Doug escape, with Quillinformer worker Morry Quillan (Wayne Duvall) captured, Mayor Aubrey James announces plans to help Gotham's homeless kids, which involves rounding them up and shipping them out of town. Patti and Doug return and hijack one of the buses of street kids, including Selina Kyle. After Bullock's interrogation of Quillan, Gordon obtains a clue that leads to Trident International Shipping. Gordon and Bullock arrive and catch Patti and Doug while encountering Kyle. While Bruce has plans to find a way to help the children, Gordon meets with Kyle who states that she has been watching him during his visits with Bruce and might have some information on the person who shot the Waynes.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.36	ProdCode = 4X6653	ShortSummary = Gordon and Bullock track a vigilante who targets corrupt Gotham citizens and nicknamed "Balloonman" for strapping his victims to weather balloons. Montoya and Allen question Gordon about Cobblepot, who returns to Gotham to get revenge on Mooney. He gets a job at mafia don Sal Maroni's restaurant, and is befriended by Maroni himself. Mooney arranges for Falcone's comare Natalia to be killed in retaliation to Falcone"?s attempted by having a waiter she was sexually involved with beaten. Gordon realizes that "Balloonman" is social worker Davis Lamond (Dan Bakkedahl), who was driven to become the Balloonman because of corrupt officials refusing to aid children on the streets. He warns Gordon that more vigilantes will follow in his path. At his apartment later, Gordon receives a surprise visit from Cobblepot.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.39	ProdCode = 4X6654	ShortSummary = Gordon learns of the Arkham Plan when he visits Bruce Wayne, where Alfred mentions that Falcone and Mayor James are backing the project. An unnamed hitman (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) has been targeting the city council members that are involved in the Arkham Project. After an attack on Maroni's restaurant by three masked men, Cobblepot is promoted to restaurant manager by Maroni, following his action of saving a bag of money and the death of the previous manager. Mooney pits two female singers against each other for her nightclub job opening, with the winner being Liza. Mayor James holds a conference about the Arkham Plan, announcing that Falcone will handle small housing development projects and Maroni will be refurbishing the Asylum. Later, Cobblepot kills the three masked robbers that attacked Maroni's restaurant who were working for Cobblepot all along.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.09	ProdCode = 4X6655	ShortSummary = Bruce plans to find a way to speak to the board members of Wayne Enterprises to learn their connections to the Arkham District Project. A new drug called "Viper" is hitting the street where the user gains super-strength, but eventually kills them. Maroni plans to rob a casino owned by Falcone, and Cobblepot reveals his past. Gordon learns that "Viper" (which is a prototype of Venom) is being distributed at a charity event held by WellZyn and Wayne Enterprises. Gordon shoots the canister on the roof and former WellZyn employee Stan Potolsky (Daniel London) gets exposed, jumping off as he suggests they check out Warehouse 39, where later Gordon and Bullock find nothing. As Mooney makes plans to conspire against Falcone with lover Nikolai, a disguised Liza visits him in the park where she shares her opera music with him.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 5.89	ProdCode = 4X6656	ShortSummary = Ten years ago, a masked killer calling himself the "Spirit of the Goat" targeted the first born of Gotham City's elite. The Goat targets a girl named Shelley Lawson, which leads a younger Bullock and his partner Detective Dix (Dan Hedaya) to try and rescue her. When Lawson is found dead, they find the killer, Randall Milkie, who claims that "Randall Milkie is dead" as he tries to attack them. Milkie is shot down by Bullock after Dix falls through a trap door and ends up badly injured. Ten years later, Bullock finds Robert Hastings' daughter, Amanda, murdered by someone with the same "Goat" motive. Upon surgery, Harvey sees a penny inside her neck, Milkie's trademark, which only he and Dix knew, which meant that he was not an imposter. They find out that Hastings's psychotherapist Dr. Marks (Susan Misner) hypnotized both Milkie and the new killer to become the Goat to scare Gotham City's rich and corrupt. The "murder" of Cobblepot is also investigated, with Gordon the prime suspect as Montoya and Allen finally find a witness near the river. However, when they attempt to arrest Gordon and Bullock, Cobblepot enters the police station, causing friction between Bullock and Gordon.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.63	ProdCode = 4X6657	ShortSummary = Gordon takes Barbara to the bus station, telling her to leave Gotham. Cobblepot leads Carbone and two other henchmen to Nikolai's hideout, killing him and Carbone. A drunken Bullock re-evaluates his choice for helping Gordon, and the two partners attempt to arrest the mayor and Falcone, but they give up when it is revealed that Falcone and hitman Victor Zsasz have Barbara, who had come back to try and negotiate with Falcone for Gordon. As Falcone later tends to his chickens, Cobblepot visits him, and Falcone tells him that everything is going as Cobblepot predicted. In a flashback to the night they had met Gordon, it is shown that Cobblepot and Falcone had formed a deal, in which Falcone would place Gordon in charge of killing Cobblepot, giving Cobblepot a chance at surviving, and in exchange, Cobblepot would forge an alliance with Maroni, snitching for Falcone. Cobblepot tells Falcone that Mooney and Nikolai are conspiring against him.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.35	ProdCode = 4X6658	ShortSummary = Bruce returns to school, where he has some trouble with the students, including Tommy Elliot (Cole Vallis), who made fun of his parents' death and asks Alfred to teach him how to defend himself. Gordon and Bullock investigate Richard Sionis (Todd Stashwick) who is hosting an illegal and deadly fight club where the victims are those who applied for Sionis Investments. Meanwhile, Liza's loyalty to Fish Mooney begins to falter when she learns of Mooney's plan to eventually kill Don Falcone. However, this doesn't stop her from stealing a ledger from the mafioso's office that may be used to incriminate him. When Gordon is caught at the site of the fight club, Bullock asks GCPD for help finding Gordon. After "The Mask" and those involved are arrested, Gordon is informed that Selina was apprehended after robbing a dress store.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.49	ProdCode = 4X6659	ShortSummary = Following Selina "Cat" Kyle's arrest and Barbara leaving Gotham to evade being targeted by the crime families, Gordon has Selina placed at Wayne Manor until the police can find the person that Selina has described to be the man who killed the Waynes. Bruce begins getting to know Selina, though she is reluctant to open up to him. During a prison transport from Blackgate Penitentiary to St. Mark Psychiatric Hospital, insane bomb maker Ian Hargrove (Leslie Odom, Jr.) is taken by the Russian mob who are working against Carmine Falcone following Nikolai's death. James Gordon meets with Harvey Dent to find the identity of the man who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Dent tells Gordon that he suspects tycoon Dick Lovecraft may be behind the hit. Oswald Cobblepot starts to make contact with Liza. When Gordon and Bullock find Hargrove at an abandoned metal factory, they are ambushed by Russian mob thugs who make off with Ian. Manipulated by Fish Mooney, the new Russian boss Gregor Kasyanov (Steve Cirbus) and his crew targets Falcone's cache of money, but are stopped as the police arrive. During a standoff, the Russians armored truck explodes via remote control by Butch Gilzean as the police get Ian into their custody. Oswald visits Liza at her apartment, telling her he knows that she is a spy for Fish and that Falcone would not like the news ("What would he do if I were to tell him that you're spying on him for Fish Mooney?"?) He says he won't tell Falcone and tells her she'll continue working for Fish. When Fish Mooney hears about what happened to Kasyanov's group, she claims she only targeted Falcone's money. At a press conference, Mayor James states that Arkham Asylum will be reopened to house the criminally insane, including Ian Hargrove. Later that night, Gordon leaves a message on Barbara's phone, unaware that she has gone back to sleeping with Renee Montoya.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers = 6.05	ProdCode = 4X6660	ShortSummary = Assassins infiltrate Wayne Manor, but Alfred fends them off, allowing Bruce and Selina to escape. Alfred tells Gordon and Bullock about the incident and then goes with Bullock to help find Bruce and Selina. Meanwhile, Falcone meets with Cobblepot to ask how Maroni knew where his money was, as he believes it was them who stole it from the Armory. Cobblepot states that Maroni didn't commit the armory robbery, as there is a mole working for someone else, possibly for Fish Mooney. Dent suspects Dick Lovecraft hired the assassins. At a mob dinner with various gangsters and mafiosi, Falcone kills his operative Bannion for failing to guard the armory and states that they must increase their tributes to him to recover from the attack on the armory, angering two of his caporegimes. Bullock and Alfred interrogate Macky who admits knowing someone who knows Selina's fence. Selina tells Bruce that the assassins were after her and not him. She leads him to an underground area used as a mall for street kids. They are visited by Ivy Pepper, who escaped from juvie to avoid being adopted following her mother's suicide. She tells Selina that her fence Clyde is operating in the Narrows. Gordon finds Lovecraft, who claims those after Selina are also after him. He gives Gordon some files about the Wayne Enterprise stocks and the two are attacked by the same assassins. Gordon is knocked unconscious and awakes to Bullock calling him to say Fish Mooney has given them information. Gordon then finds Lovecraft dead. Bruce and Selina visit Clyde, only to be grabbed by his associates. The assassins arrive to claim Selina, but she knocks one out, just as Bullock and Alfred arrive. Copperhead (one of the assassins) stalks Bruce, demanding to know where Selina is. Alfred makes his way to Bruce, and the assassin escapes. Clyde and those involved are arrested. Following Lovecraft's "suicide", Mayor James reassigns Gordon to Arkham Asylum after scolding him and Dent for pressuring Lovecraft. Selina checks in on Bruce at home and kisses him.	LineColor = 686761 }}	Viewers =	ProdCode =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 686761 }}

Production

On September 24, 2013, Fox announced that it had bypassed the traditional pilot phase and placed a straight-to-series order for Gotham, to be written and executive produced by Bruno 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. Fox"?s Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly stated, "We were only contractually obligated to order 13, and we ordered 16, because we think that"?s the way that show, at least in its first iteration, will be very strong to arc to. Could we do more next season? We certainly could, but that"?s where we"?re starting with that one. That show is going to have a very strong, serialized element." 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. Speaking of the project at the 2014 winter TCA press tour, Reilly described the series as "this operatic soap that has a slightly larger-than-life quality. This is not some adjunct companion series. This is the Batman franchise, just backing it up [in chronology]." He later added that the series is separate from any DC film universe. The pilot was screened at the Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment panel at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2014. In July 2014, it was announced that Graeme Revell would be the composer for the series.

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. 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 Cunninham said that Renee Montoya would be a character on the show.

International broadcast

The series premiered on Nine Network in Australia on October 12. In Canada, it airs simultaneously on CTV. In Ireland, it airs on RT Two. In New Zealand, it premiered on TV2 on September 28. In the United Kingdom, it premiered on Channel 5 on October 13.

In September 2014, Warner Bros. Television Distribution sold the worldwide video on demand rights for the series to Netflix.

Reception

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.

Ratings

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18-49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18-49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18-49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"		3.2/10	8.21	2.7	5.84	6.0	14.15
2	"Selina Kyle"		2.8/8	7.45	1.9	4.33	4.7	11.81
3	"The Balloonman"		2.5/8	6.36	2.0	4.52	4.5	10.88
4	"Arkham"		2.4/7	6.39	1.7	3.95	4.1	10.34
5	"Viper"		2.3/7	6.09	1.7	4.33	4.0	10.12
6	"Spirit of the Goat"		2.2/7	5.89	1.5	3.78	3.7	9.66
7	"Penguin's Umbrella"		2.4/7	6.63	1.7	3.83	4.1	10.47
8	"The Mask"		2.2/7	6.35	1.6	3.68	3.8	10.03
9	"Harvey Dent"		2.3/6	6.49
10	"Lovecraft"		2.3/7	6.05

Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of the show a rating of 89% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. 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 show a score of 71 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

David Hinckley of the 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."

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominee	Result
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Drama	Gotham
		Favorite Actor In A New TV Series	Benjamin McKenzie
		Favorite Actress In A New TV Series	Jada Pinkett Smith