Before it even premiered, I predicted that it’d take Gotham three to five seasons before it got “Foxed.” In other words, the timetable I believed to be most realistic for its eventual cancellation. After all, the network has a proud history of giving the ax to an impressive number of TV series, something that Family Guy has had fun at the expense of.
Make no mistake, I’ve been an outspoken advocate for the Batman prequel series and would like for it to continue for as long as possible, but I’m just being a realist. Don’t forget that the show was renewed for a fourth season by the skin of its teeth, so optimism is much of what we have to rely on at this point.
Fortunately, Fox Chairman Gary Newman seems to be in the same boat as I am, also wishing for more Gotham in the future. Here’s what he had to say to Deadline regarding the show’s move to Thursday nights and what may lie ahead:
“We asked a lot of it this year moving to Thursday nights and I thought it did a pretty good job of opening up that night for us. I feel like Gotham should have a place in our schedule.”
Yes, it should, Mr. Newman, especially since it looks like season 4 will leave off on a cliffhanger, effectively setting up an adaptation of the No Man’s Land story arc. Really, to cancel it now would be such a disservice.
But what he had to say next came as somewhat of a punch to the gut:
“[It will] purely be a matter of scheduling. Thursday is not available in the fall, so where do we use it? Hopefully there’s more years of Gotham.”
Well, having read that, we certainly hope there’s some room on Friday nights in the fall, or at least an opening around the midseason mark. Sure, the Friday night slot spells doom for a lot of series, but it’s better than nothing. And if Fox is willing to go that route, it’d behoove the Gotham producers to map out their endgame because it seems there isn’t much mercy left.
