GOTHAM
The good. The evil. The beginning.
Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes – a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?
Growing up in Gotham City’s surrounding suburbs, James Gordon (series star BEN McKENZIE) romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiance Barbara Kean (series star ERIN RICHARDS), Gordon is living his dream – even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid.
Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend Harvey Bullock (series star DONAL LOGUE), as the two stumble upon the city’s highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes’ hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, Bruce (series star DAVID MAZOUZ), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy’s profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.
As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham’s criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss Fish Mooney (series star JADA PINKETT SMITH), mob kingpin Carmine Falcone (series star JOHN DOMAN) and many of the characters who will become some of fiction’s most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman (series star CAMREN BICONDOVA), Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (series star ROBIN LORD TAYLOR) and Edward Nygma/the future Riddler (series star CORY MICHAEL SMITH).
The crime drama will follow Gordon’s turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain Sarah Essen (series star ZABRYNA GUEVARA), as he goes head-to-head with major crimes unit detectives Renee Montoya (series star VICTORIA CARTAGENA) and Crispus Allen (series star ANDREW STEWART-JONES). It also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, Alfred Pennyworth (series star SEAN PERTWEE). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he’s destined to be.
GOTHAM traces the rise of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. In the series premiere, GOTHAM follows Jim Gordon, a cop destined for greatness, as he navigates a dangerously corrupt city teetering between good and evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.
Series 1, episode 8
“The Mask”
When a Gothamite is found beaten to death, Gordon and Bullock are intrigued by the motive and take on the case. Meanwhile, Bruce returns to school and has trouble making friends.
Written by: John Stephens
Directed by: Paul Edwards
U.S. Broadcast Premiere: 10-Nov-2014