If you’re not a fan of the Gotham series on Fox, you probably want to see another version of that done better. I personally never got into that series, but I was interested in seeing the story of a young James Gordon. In the comics, the closest thing we ever really got to that was his beginnings as a police lieutenant in Frank Miller‘s Batman: Year One comic. That was a great comic and it honestly felt like more of a James Gordon than a Batman one. Then again, that was meant to be another origins story for the Dark Knight and showed us the early days of his crimefighting career. For the case of the Gotham series, we got the chance to see things from the perspective of a more inexperienced James Gordon, along with his partner, Harvey Bullock.
I think what made fans less interested in the Gotham series is how it became less about the early career of James Gordon and more about setting up Batman villains. It showed us Black Mask, only it was the father of Roman Sionis and not the real one, then we got to see Bane, which was weird seeing him in his prime with no adult Batman to fight, and then Jerome. Honestly, I just couldn’t keep up with that character. I don’t know about you, but to me, Jerome just wasn’t the Joker.
Gotham was the most interesting when it tried to be more of a cop show than a set-up for Batman. Bruce Wayne was still a young boy at the time, so there was no need to focus much on him. I was always interested to see how things played out in the worst city in the DC Universe through the eyes of its police officers. Every Batman fan knows full well that Gotham City is notorious for being a cesspool of corruption and violence. And for the longest time, before and even during the time of Batman, the Gotham City Police Department was known for being corrupt. From Detective Arnold Flass, to SWAT commander Branden, and even to the former commissioner Gillian Loeb, the whole department operated more as hired guns to Gotham’s crime families than actual officers of the law.
Did we get to see that in the Gotham series? Sometimes, but the show decided to focus more on the origins of Batman in his famous villains. That’s when the show got less interesting and why I never really kept up with it. But after I gave up on that series, I always wanted to see the story of Gotham’s police officers done right. Basically make it a cop show set in the DC Universe. Well, back in July of 2020, director Matt Reeves did announce that a spin-off show for The Batman centered around the Gotham City Police Department was in development. However, it didn’t take long for some bad news about the series to surface. With many people pulling out, the future of the series was left in question.
Shortly after the release of The Batman, Matt Reeves did announce that another spin-off series was in the works. This series would center around the famous madhouse of Gotham City, Arkham Asylum. Now that spin-off series does sound interesting and the perfect opportunity to explore the origins of several Batman villains. On top of that, another spin-off series from The Batman is in development, and this one will be about Colin Farrell’s Penguin. I must say, after watching his stellar performance as the villain in The Batman, I’m all on board with the Penguin series.
And as for the series centering around the Gotham City PD, I was interested, but I’ll admit, it did feel like overkill. Do we really need three spin-off series for The Batman? Maybe not, but if it’s good, then I’ll take it. Well, it turns out this is one series that just wasn’t meant to be. Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Reeves has confirmed that the Gotham City PD series has officially been cancelled. Bad news? A little, considering that the show did have an interesting premise.
Based on the description Matt Reeves gave us, the Gotham City PD show was going to center around a corrupt GCPD officer. The Gotham City PD show was going to take place one year before the events of The Batman. Since The Batman was the second year of this Batman’s crimefighting days, this would have showed us the very beginning of his days as the Dark Knight. However, we wouldn’t have seen this through the perspective of Batman himself, but through the eyes of an unnamed corrupt cop. Given that this is Gotham City, this corrupt cop was probably on Carmine Falcone’s payroll and did very little to protect the citizens of Gotham City.
However, the catch came when the corrupt officer learned of the emergence of the mysterious vigilante known as the Batman. After seeing the actions of the Batman, the corrupt officer would begin to “reawaken” from the corruption he once relished in and work towards becoming a good cop. In a city that likes being dirty, this would have been the ultimate crime drama set in a superhero universe. In other words, the Gotham series done right.
Hearing the premise of that series made me more interested in this series. However, if I had to choose between the Gotham City PD series and the other two spin-off series that are in development, I have to admit the Gotham City PD series would be the one I would be the least interested in watching. For this series to work, the only villains the corrupt cop would be facing would have to be other corrupt cops and Falcone’s thugs. I suppose that would be more interesting than seeing less-interesting versions of Batman’s villains, but Matt Reeves gave a good explanation as to why the series was cancelled. According to him, he thought it would be better to focus on a series that will develop more well-known characters, rather than one that centers around an original character.
I see his point, given that Batman fans are always more interested in seeing more versions of the villains. It was rather hit-and-miss for the Gotham series, but I think the Arkham Asylum series will do a much better job. Again, I am a little disappointed the Gotham City PD series is shelved, but at least we’ll be getting two other spin-off shows. What are your thoughts, Batman fans?
Follow Us
