The coming week will bring us the finale of the current, fourth, season of Gotham. Unfortunately, it could also be the series finale, as well, as FOX are known to be tempted to bring the Batman prequel to a close. We’ll likely find out in a few days what fate awaits the show, but a new report suggests it might be saved. Though a full renewal seems out of the question at this point, it appears that Gotham could get a shortened final season instead, in order to wrap up any lingering plot threads.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Lesley Goldberg revealed via Twitter that sources say the series is “still in play,” as Warner Bros. Television hopes to push Gotham‘s episode count past that golden 100 mark so that it can go into syndication. He revealed this hopeful news in the face of the apparently damning announcement that FOX’s crime drama Lethal Weapon had been renewed.
It’d previously been promised that, if this happened, Gotham was set for the chop. Turns out that wasn’t entirely true, though, as Goldberg says:
Sources say #Gotham is still in play, for potential 13-episode order. That would get the WBTV series to the 100-episode mark needed for syndication.
It’s possible this last lifeline was extended due to the ratings boost the most recent episode of the show earned. The penultimate installment of season 4, “One Bad Day,” saw Cameron Monaghan’s Jerome attempt to drive Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) mad. It was one of the most fan-pleasing episodes yet, as it brought Gotham closer to the Batman mythology than ever before. Clearly, this is something the audience responds to, meaning there’s still a lot of life left in the series.
What’s more, the upcoming finale also promises to give Gotham a major restart, as producers have said that the events that close season 4 will blow the show wide open and “reboot” it for season 5. Let’s hope the network ends up renewing the series then so that we can see these plans come to pass.