Television series

Gotham

Name: Gotham
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime
Released: 2014
Cast: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, Cory Michael Smith

Police procedural

Gotham is a origin-story prequel that shadows James Gordon's early career as a detective in a city strangled by corruption, while showing how iconic Batman villains—Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman—become who they are. It's operatic and pulpy, swinging between noir procedural and comic-book spectacle. For fans of crime dramas with a Gothic edge and those who want to see villainy take shape.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like crime stories where the corruption is the real monster and the future villains are still finding their shape, with a comic-book sheen and a soft spot for the city itself.

Skip it if you want a tight, self-contained case each week; this is a sprawling, soap-tinged machine with a lot of plates spinning, and its early episodes lean on mood.

What it asks of you: Five seasons and a hundred hour-long episodes, so you are committing to a long haul; the pace is brisk and the tone stays dark, with plenty of plotting and betrayal.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Wire2002

A sprawling anatomy of institutional corruption across Baltimore's police, politics and streets. Like Gotham, it builds its power from showing how systems breed both heroes and villains, with patient, brilliant writing.

But It moves slowly and demands your attention; there's no music swelling to tell you something matters. Gotham is louder and more immediately gratifying.

Fringe2008

A procedural with genre ambition and a growing mythology, anchored by a lead who gets tougher and morally compromised as it unfolds. Same blend of case-of-the-week grounding with larger conspiracies building underneath.

But The sci-fi elements are dense and the show demands you keep track of parallel realities. Gotham's supernatural moments are simpler.

Arrow2012

Another DC prequel that traces a hero's path through a corrupt city. It understands the same tonal sweet spot—grounded crime drama seasoned with comic-book villainy and visual style.

But It leans heavier on superhero fight choreography. If you want less spandex and more detective work, Gotham gives you that balance.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Gotham

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Nightcrawler2014

Both trace how an individual's ruthlessness finds purchase in a city that secretly rewards it. Same moral engine, different timeline.

A portrait of how a city's hunger for spectacle and blood creates monsters. Jake Gyllenhaal's Louis Bloom is a Gotham villain in embryo—ambitious, amoral, weaponizing the system for his own rise. Same DNA, compressed into two hours.

But It's relentlessly grim with no catharsis or humor to soften it. Gotham lets you enjoy the villainy; this film makes you sick watching it succeed.

Boardwalk Empire2010

An ambitious period crime saga that shows how power consolidates and how ordinary people become monsters. The production design is stunning and the worldbuilding is meticulous, much like Gotham's Gotham.

But It's three times as long and often moves at a funeral pace. The Prohibition-era setting won't appeal if you're after the contemporary crime feel.

Dexter2006

A detective protagonist who's morally compromised in ways the system doesn't see. Early seasons nail the balance between procedural satisfaction and a character unraveling under the weight of secrets.

But The later seasons lose the plot badly. Gotham stays committed to its vision in ways Dexter ultimately didn't.

Person of Interest2011

A crime procedural that grows into something much larger, with an AI mythology and increasingly baroque plotting. It rewards viewers who stay loyal and doesn't insult your intelligence.

But The technology is dated now, and the early seasons feel formulaic before the show finds its stride. Gotham has style from the jump.

Penny Dreadful2014

Gothic atmosphere, moral ambiguity, and a willingness to take pulp seriously. The ensemble cast and production design share Gotham's commitment to making darkness look beautiful.

But It's slower and more literary; the horror is psychological rather than plot-driven. Gotham is far more propulsive.

Chinatown1974

Both say the same thing: the system protects the guilty, and the price of seeing clearly is losing faith in justice. Gotham just adds comic villains.

The noir blueprint Gotham is remixing. A detective confronts institutional rot so deep that winning the case means losing everything. Polanski's LA is Gotham's spiritual ancestor—corruption isn't a crime, it's the landscape.

But It's a 1974 film and it looks it. The pacing is deliberate and the detective work is conversation, not action. If you want momentum, this withers.

The Sopranos1999

Both understand that villains don't see themselves as villains. Both track the slow erosion of moral resistance and the way ambition reshapes identity.

A character study of ambition and corruption that changed television. Where Gotham shows you the birth of villains, The Sopranos shows you their middle age—both are obsessed with the machinery of power and the cost of seeing how it works.

But It's deliberately paced and deeply interior. Characters sit with their feelings rather than move the plot forward. Gotham is far more event-driven and visual.