Gotham

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,[2] Riddler,[2] Catwoman,[2] Poison Ivy,[3] Scarecrow,[4] Mr. Freeze,[5] Hugo Strange,[6] Solomon Grundy,[7] Mad Hatter,[8] Ra's al Ghul,[9] Nyssa al Ghul,[10] Bane,[11] and The Joker.

## Plot

The story behind Detective James Gordon's rise to prominence in Gotham City in the years before Batman's arrival.

## Cast and Characters

* Ben McKenzie as James Gordon:
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.[18] In February 2014, McKenzie was cast as the lead character.[19] 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."[20]
* Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock:
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.[21]
* David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne:
In March 2014, Mazouz was cast as Bruce Wayne.[22] 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.*"[23]*
* Zabryna Guevara as Sarah Essen (season 1-2):
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.[24][25]
* Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth:
In February 2014, Pertwee was cast as Alfred Pennyworth in the series.[24][25] Pertwee's character takes inspiration from the *Earth One* iteration of Alfred Pennyworth.[26]
* Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin:
In February 2014, Taylor was cast as Oswald Cobblepot, an intelligent low-level thug who used to work for Fish Mooney.[24][25]
* Erin Richards as Barbara Kean:
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.[24][25] She renews a past romantic relationship with Renee Montoya.[27]
* Camren Bicondova as Selina "Cat" Kyle:
In March 2014, Bicondova was confirmed to have joined the show's cast.[22] 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."[28] Lili Simmons portrays an adult Selina in the series finale.[29]
* Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma / The Riddler:
Smith joined the cast in April 2014.[30][31] In May 2014, Smith was promoted to a series regular.[32][33] "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."[34][35]
* Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya (season 1):
Cartagena joined the series in May 2014, but she was not a regular for the rest of the series after season one.[33][36]
* Andrew Stewart-Jones as Crispus Allen (season 1):
Stewart-Jones joined the series in May 2014, but he was not a regular for the rest of the series after season one.[33][36]
* John Doman as Carmine Falcone (main season 1, recurring season 2-4):
Doman first appeared in the series pilot as Carmine Falcone, a mob boss with ties to James Gordon's father.[37] Doman continued to appear throughout the season.
* Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney (main season 1, recurring season 2-3):
Smith was cast as Fish Mooney in February 2014.[38] 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.[39] 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*."[40] In January 2016 it was announced that Smith would be reprising the role for the second half of season 2.[41]
* Morena Baccarin as Leslie "Lee" Thompkins (main season 2-5, recurring season 1):
Morena Baccarin was cast in October 2014.[42] Baccarin was promoted to a series regular for the second season, after recurring in the first season.[43]
* James Frain as Theo Galavan / Azrael (season 2):
In June 2015, Frain was announced as a series regular only for season 2.[44]
* Jessica Lucas as Tabitha Galavan / Tigress (season 2-5):
In June 2015, Lucas was announced as series regular for season 2.[44]
* Chris Chalk as Lucius Fox (main season 2-5, guest season 1):
In March 2015, Chalk was announced as Lucius Fox,[45] and was promoted to a series regular for the second season.[46]
* Drew Powell as Butch Gilzean / Cyrus Gold / Solomon Grundy (main season 2-4, recurring season 1):[47]
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.[48]
* Nicholas D'Agosto as Harvey Dent (main season 2, guest season 1):
In July 2014, it was announced that Harvey Dent would appear in the show.[49] D'Agosto was revealed to portray Harvey Dent in October 2014,[50] and was promoted to a series regular for the second season.[51]
* Michael Chiklis as Nathaniel Barnes/The Executioner (season 2-3):[52]
In July 2015, Chiklis was announced as a series regular for season two as Captain Nathaniel Barnes.[53]
* Maggie Geha as Ivy "Pamela" Pepper (main season 3, guest season 4):
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.[54][55]
* Benedict Samuel as Jervis Tetch / Mad Hatter (main season 3, recurring season 4-5):
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.[56]
* Crystal Reed as Sofia Falcone (season 4):
The daughter of Carmine Falcone who is returning to Gotham to help Gordon take down the Penguin.[57] Reed was announced to portray Sofia Falcone and upgraded to a series regular for season 4.[9]
* Alexander Siddig as Ra's al Ghul (main season 4, guest season 3):
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[58] before being upgraded to a series regular for season 4.[9]

## Seasons

* Season 1 (2014-2015)
* Season 2 (2015-2016)
* Season 3 (2016-2017)
* Season 4 (2017-2018)
* Season 5 (2019)