Can Fox's GOTHAM Get Back On Track In 2018 And Be Renewed For A Fifth Season?

Can Fox's GOTHAM Get Back On Track In 2018 And Be Renewed For A Fifth Season?

As Fox's Gotham TV series heads into a sure-to-be exciting second half of season 4, will one of the show's most highly anticipated team ups help tip the scales in favor of a renewal for a fifth season?

Editorial Opinion
By PamelaNunley - Jan 18, 2018 05:01 AM EST
Filed Under: Gotham
Source: TV Series Finale
Depsite maintaining a rating of over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and consistently stellar performances by its cast of zany characters, Gotham continues to struggle to maintain the same viewership that landed it among FOX's top ten scripted series during seasons past. While it is still outpacing The Mick, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the Exorcist, viewership was down in Season 4 at the time of its premier by 22.79%, according to the charts tracked by TV Series Finale

While this doesn't exactly bode well for the show, it's still too soon to count it out entirely. As the preview for the Spring opener, "Pieces of a Broken Mirror," continues to make the rounds, Gotham seems primed to either go out with a bang or finally gain the traction it needs to break the fifth season barrier. Either way, fans will finally get to see what a team-up between Jerome and Penguin entails, and as much as the Riddler seemed to balance Oswald's often impulsive nature, the previews imply that Jerome lives to enable in the extreme, which: duh.

Of course, the villians of Gotham have been its strongest pillar since the show's inception, with Robin Lord Taylor's masterful portrayal of an earnest and disturbed, or earnetsly disturbed, Penguin. Add to that the slow but steady rallying of the Sirens, Edward Nygma's subtle introduction and gradual descent into the Riddler, and Cameron Monaghan's epic performance as Jerome, and even the most staunch of DC detractors have to concede that Batman's rogues gallery IS the most entertaining if not, indeed, the best rogues gallery.

Speaking of Batman and, in counterpoint to Gotham's heaviest hitting story arcs, it often times seems that Bruce Wayne's story is what tends to fall short. Of course, the latest preview finally sees Bruce doing something interesting in season 4, unsurprisingly once again opposite one of his villians. This time, it happens to be Ivy which is an exciting dynamic for the show to finally explore, what with the first half of the season being dedicated to teenage angst and post-murder depression syndrome. 

Speaking of murder syndromes, it would appear that Sofia Falcone has managed to gain the ire of the rest of Gotham's key players, including a furious Lee, and Police Chief Gordon. Her relationship with the Sirens is tenuous at best, and it would appear her unflinching dedication to restoring the Falcone name is finally starting to take its toll. This can only end bloody, one would hope. 

Indeed, it would be a shame to see Gotham ended prematurely just when all the pieces are set. Especially when longer running shows, such as Supernatural on CW get to stay on with per episode ratings below 2 million viewers this season, despite its undeniable track record.

What do you think? Should we be worried about Gotham or has season 4 set us up for a win? Let your thoughts be heard in the comments!

 

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davethewall
davethewall - 1/18/2018, 6:00 AM
The fact that is has lasted 4 seasons is amazing, if for no other reason than it is a genre show on Fox. Fox has a bad track record when it comes to ending shows pretty early.
PatchesOhoulihan
PatchesOhoulihan - 1/18/2018, 6:09 AM
Comparing the CW to Fox isn't really accurate, Supernatural can stay on with 2 mil viewers as the CW have a different target both audience numbers wise and demographic wise. Fox aim way higher hence the challenge. If Gotham was on the CW it would have half the budget per episode but would also last twice as long due to the lower cost per episode and the fact that CW don't need to make as much from advertising as Fox so they can target a 0.8/0.9 share whilst Fox need higher.
greyjedi
greyjedi - 1/18/2018, 6:10 AM
well, sure, before the Disney deal approved by the gov
rabid
rabid - 1/18/2018, 11:34 AM
@greyjedi - They haven't approved it yet. The first hearing is scheduled for March.
KWilly
KWilly - 1/18/2018, 6:10 AM
This show has gotten a lot of undeserved hate. Season 4 has strangely been the best season it's ever had. The stories are crisp, the characters are at the top of their game, and everything is just falling into place. I'd be crushed if they couldn't just squeeze one more season out of Gotham.

Plus, this is the best incarnation of Bruce Wayne I've ever seen. They've developed him so well from a meek, little kid to a rising hero.

Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 1/18/2018, 7:34 AM
@KWilly - It's also got some of the best versions of Alfred, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, Bullock and I'd say Joker.
KWilly
KWilly - 1/18/2018, 7:46 AM
@Nightwing1015 - Exactly. Gotham gets some things wrong, and they'll mess up. But one thing they always hit out of the park is their villains.
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/18/2018, 8:42 AM
@KWilly - I loved everything they were doing with Bruce, he has been one of my favorite characters on the show. But then they ruined that half way through this season, turning him into a despicable brat. I hope he can be redeemed because he just kicked out my favorite character on the show, Alfred.
Buckster10
Buckster10 - 1/18/2018, 9:34 AM
@KWilly - It has that Burton mix of menace and camp. And the guy that plays Jarome is fantastic. My only problem is that they keep saying he's not really Joker. The guy is too good in the role! He should just be Gotham's official Joker already.
JoeMomma29
JoeMomma29 - 1/18/2018, 6:28 AM
Gotham is a guilty pleasure, it is so out of the box in terms of source material etc.

I am pretty sure FOX will renew it for a fifth and final season.
MarvelousMarty
MarvelousMarty - 1/18/2018, 6:36 AM
Have always liked most of the show. Gordon and Bruce are the weak links but the rest are great(ish).
TheBeard
TheBeard - 1/18/2018, 6:42 AM
More Jessica Lucas please!!!


nickh0801
nickh0801 - 1/18/2018, 7:11 AM
@TheBeard - Cosign, and add a side of Crystal Reed as well. :)
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 1/18/2018, 8:06 AM
@TheBeard - Haven't watched Gotham since early season three, principally because of a supreme lack of Jessica Lucas.
Prork
Prork - 1/18/2018, 7:00 AM
I thought the first part of this season was pretty awful, but the last few episodes before the break really turned it around.
The weakest parts for me were easily the awful attempt as Ra's Al Ghul, and the 'Batboy' costume that looks hilariously bad.
JohnnyTBP
JohnnyTBP - 1/18/2018, 7:10 AM
This season has been good. I like how they have young Bruce Wayne build up his rich persona. I would like him to get back into his year one Batman persona that he started in the first two episodes this season
nightwin6
nightwin6 - 1/18/2018, 7:15 AM
Hopefully, it just ends.
blackandyellow
blackandyellow - 1/18/2018, 7:19 AM
Gotham and iZombie are the only two CB shows worth my time.
pclark
pclark - 1/18/2018, 7:28 AM
IMHO Gotham has been pretty rock solid all the way through. It was never supposed to be about Bruce becoming Batman... It was always meant to be about the rise of criminals bad enough that the city needed the Bat. And from that perspective the slow burn towards some of the villains eventual greatness has been a pure joy to watch. I hope it gets many more seasons. It should be renewed if the dreck that is Brooklyn Nine-Nine can be renewed.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 1/18/2018, 7:34 AM
I think it should be safe for one final season. The Disney/Fox deal actually made it's renewal more likely because the show is made by WB, not Fox.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 1/18/2018, 7:35 AM
Also, the original contract is for 5 years. They should be able to cut some cast members, cut their budget and pull everything together for one last year.
NatchiosElektra
NatchiosElektra - 1/18/2018, 8:09 AM
I only watch this show because of the Riddler, Penguin and my god: Jessica Lucas.
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/18/2018, 9:06 AM
I binged this entire show in the past couple months. And its kind of a mixed bag. Is it a good show? Yes. Is it a fantastic show? No. This show is its own kind of worst enemy at times, and it kind of goes in a cyclical pattern of being really great for some episodes and then kind of going downward in terms of quality. This show excels when it deals with mature, serious, dark episodes and characters. But when the show gets too dramatic or silly, it kind of derails the story line a bit. And sometimes characters do things, such as behaving towards another character, that just seems completely idiotic; like the character should know better but doesn't. Its kind of frustrating.

It took a while for season 1 to find its footing, but the last half of that season was very good. Season 2 was excellent all around, their best season in my opinion. It had great villains, great development of characters, great action, and great stories.

Season 3 was a bit of a disappointment however. It had some great moments and episodes, but also some that were not good. Tetch was not as compelling of a villain and they spent too much time focusing on him. One of the things that made the second season so great was they devoted essentially an equal amount of time to both storylines; but in season 3, they devoted 2/3 of the season to one storyline and the rest to the other. The whole focus of season 3 should have been the Court of Owls. We should have had episodes of Gordon inside their organization, instead of an episode. They were never really fleshed out to the proper extent. Fish Mooney, a character I hated in season 1, was handled poorly and she seemed like a waste in the season. And then you had characters behaving in a way, or doing actions that could have been handled so much better.

And season 4, well it started out really strong. I was pretty skeptical about Ras al Ghul being introduced out of nowhere at the end of season 3, but they were handling him somewhat well in the beginning of season 4. But then they killed him, first mistake of the season. Again, a character/storyline not handled properly. Ras should have been present the entirety of the season, not just the first several episodes. Then they completely ruined Bruce Wayne by making him a completely despicable character in a way that pretty much destroyed everything they had built up for him. Pyg was very good but the rest of the stuff in the episodes surrounding him was not as good. The second half of the episodes we got so far were not as strong as the Ras ones.

This show needs to stick to what makes it great, what works really well. It has great characters, great villains, and some great episodes. But at times it is just so freakin frustrating and disappointing. I have felt that the last batch of episodes stuff happened just to happen; stuff just exists and there isn't really a lot of thoughts going into whether it should occur, if its the best avenue for a character or storyline. I just hope the rest of the season is much stronger.

BillyM67
BillyM67 - 1/18/2018, 9:30 AM
Pretty simple, it's Gotham. The home of Batman. If they don't have Batman soon, the show will continue to lose viewers.
DBLACK
DBLACK - 1/18/2018, 11:10 AM
If I could put my finger on one thing that bugs me about Gotham, it's the episode run. Recently watched S3 on Netflix and whilst it was pretty good all-round, I couldn't wait for it to finally wrap! The S3 series (IMO) was too long. That said, I'm looking forward to S4 when it's added to Netflix (UK)and hopefully more of Alfred shouting YOU SLAG!

HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/18/2018, 4:05 PM
@MMXVDB - Alfred is the best part of this show!
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 1/18/2018, 11:17 AM
This show is [frick]ing awesome and I'd take it over half of the CW shows.
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/18/2018, 4:06 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - I'd take it over half of the CW shows as well, the Flash and Supergirl to be exact.
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