Gotham Renewed For One More Season; The Gifted Moves To Tuesday In The Fall
by Erik Amaya
Fox finally mapped out its comic book TV choices after cancelling Lucifer on Friday.
Gotham, the seemingly beleaguered Fox/Warner Television co-production, was renewed for a fifth and final season on Sunday. The final season will be comprised of 13 episodes, held for the mid-season in 2019, and feature Bruce’s (David Mazouz) final journey to becoming the Bat-Man. “The fifth and final season will wrap up this unique origin story of the great DC Comics Super-villains and vigilantes, which revealed an entirely new chapter that has never been told,” producers told Deadline.
The show continues to be a strong player in Warner TV’s streaming offerings on services like Netflix, but its ratings on Fox — where the broadcaster makes its money on the series — have continued on a steady decline since its 2014 debut. At the time, the series focused on Gotham City Police Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) who vowed to solve the murder of Bruce’s parents while confronting the endless graft and corruption around the city. In subsequent years, the show added familiar Batman villains as Bruce grew up, leading him to his destiny.
Meanwhile, Fox’s other remaining comic book based show, The Gifted, will return in the Fall, but on a new night. According to TVLine, the show will join Lethal Weapon on Tuesdays; putting it in direct competition with The Flash.
Developed by Burn Notice‘s Matt Nix, the series focuses on the Strucker family and their allies in the Mutant Underground following an incident which apparently killed both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. Along the way, the family learns they are key to both mutant survival and a growing threat from old and shadow forces. Starring Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White, the show debuted strong and grew on that solid opening.
Last season, The Gifted ran for 13 episodes across the Fall and early part of winter 2018. If it follows the same pattern, Gotham may take its time slot in the mid season before it signs off next year.