'Gotham,' Fox's new fall series, is picked up by Netflix
The new show, which has yet to air, will become available on Netflix after its first season airs on television.
'Gotham' stars Ben McKenzie (r.) and Robin Lord Taylor.
Jessica Miglio/Fox/AP
Netflix has picked up the rights to a TV series that hasn’t even debuted yet.
The service will be the only “subscription video on demand home” of Fox’s series “Gotham,” the “Batman” prequel which is set to debut this fall, in the US, according to Deadline. According to the outlet, in addition to reportedly being the first streaming video on demand agreement made about a broadcast show before it aired on regular television, the deal includes the fact that Netflix will be the only place “Gotham” airs on a subscription video on demand service in every current Netflix market across the globe.
The news comes after Netflix recently obtained the rights to the NBC series “The Blacklist” for what was reportedly $2 million per episode, an agreement that was called the largest deal for a TV show on a subscription video-on-demand service. According to Deadline, the “Gotham” agreement could include each episode costing $1.75 million.
“Gotham is the most anticipated new series of the fall season and we are thrilled to offer it to our members around the world,” Chief Content Officer at Netflix Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “The Batman origin story is sure to have massive global appeal so it is fitting that, along with Warner Television, we have created a new model for distributing a show that international and domestic audiences will love.”
The first season of the show will arrive on Netflix sometime after it airs on television, according to Variety, probably in September 2015.
“Gotham” is set in the universe of the “Batman” stories at a time when Bruce Wayne, also known as the Caped Crusader, is still growing up. The series centers on Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), who will become an ally of Batman but, during “Gotham,” has just joined the city’s police department. The show also includes younger versions of such “Batman” villains as Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman (Camren Bicondova); Oswald Cobblepot, whose alias is the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor); and Edward Nygma, who later becomes the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith).
The show debuts on Sept. 22.