Gotham is an American
crime-drama television series developed by
Bruno Heller, based on characters appearing in and published by
DC Comics in the
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 Department. The idea evolved not only to include the Wayne character, but also to tell the origin stories of several
Batman villains, including
the Penguin,
the Riddler,
Catwoman,
Poison Ivy,
Two-Face,
the Scarecrow,
Mr. Freeze,
Hugo Strange and
the Joker.
Gotham premiered on
Fox on September 22, 2014, and is currently in its second season, which began on September 21, 2015.