[SPOILERS for those not caught up on Gotham season 2 ahead.]
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Gotham, love it or loathe it (or something in between), has yet to change course and has continued even further down the path that it paved during its freshman season - significantly re-imagining numerous key elements of the Gotham City comic book mythology in season 2, in particular the supervillains that Bruce Wayne (who for now is just a 14-15 year old boy, played by David Mazouz) will one day do battle with on the city’s mean (and weird) streets, when he becomes Batman. Although Ben McKenzie’s James Gordon remains the focal point of the crime drama show, young Bruce is starting to come into his own - having already confronted his parents’ killer, for instance.
How far will Gotham ultimately take Mazouz’s young Bruce Wayne on his journey to becoming the Caped Crusader? That remains to be seen, of course, but we can now confirm that Gotham showrunner/creator Bruno Heller and his collaborators - including the TV series’ executive producer/director Danny Cannon - will get at least one more season to tell their version of life in Gotham City before Batman.
FOX has officially ordered Gotham season 3, with the network (in its related press release) reporting that the DC Comics-based TV show averages some nine million viewers total across multiple platforms - and that Gotham season 2 ranks in the top 10 entertainment programs for Men 18-49 (and among the top 5 broadcast dramas for Men 18-49 and 18-34). Here is the official statement from FOX Entertainment President David Madden on FOX’s decision to renew Gotham for a third season (as was included with the press release):
“It takes a very special team to tell the tales of ‘Gotham.’ For the past two seasons, Bruno [Heller], Danny [Cannon] and John [Stephens] have masterfully honored the mythology of ‘Gotham’ and brought it to life with depth, emotion and memorable high drama. This incredibly talented cast has redefined these iconic characters for a new generation, and we couldn’t be more proud of this show."
The way in which Gotham has “redefined” several iconic characters from the Batman comics lore has, to no small degree, always been the main point of contention among longtime comic book readers - and in turn, an important deciding factor in how they feel about the series, in general. Nevertheless, Gotham’s success in many ways speaks for itself; not only has the show given rise to arguably the best-developed - and most compelling - versions of the DC villains Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Corey Michael Smith) featured in a movie and/or TV show to date, Gotham has in fact managed to truly “redefine” key elements of the Batman mythos in a way that many prequels or “origin stories” aspire to do, yet fall short of achieving. For that alone, Heller and his cast/crew deserve to be recognized.
Of course, Gotham season 2 is far from being done re-tooling elements from Batman comic book origin stories past, what with FOX’s season 3 renewal press release teasing that Hugo Strange (BD Wong) still has more “wild experiments” in the works at his Indian Hill labs - ones that will “create even more chaos and legendary villains,” no less. We already know that the DC Comics villain Azrael will soon be getting a makeover this season, while Gotham season 1 antagonist Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) shall return from the dead soon (either figuratively or literally). The next baddie in line on Gotham, however, is none other than Penguin’s dad, played by Paul Reubens (reprising a role that he first played more than twenty years ago in Batman Returns).
Gotham season 2 will continue with “Mad Grey Dawn” next Monday, March 21st at 8pm on FOX.
Source: FOX
