March 14 (2023-03-14) – June 27, 2023 (2023-06-27)
Gotham Knights is an American superhero television series developed by Natalie Abrams, Chad Fiveash, and James Stoteraux for The CW. It centers on members of the Batman family and other DC Comics supporting characters. It premiered on March 14, 2023. In June 2023, the series was canceled after one season,[1] and aired its final episode on June 27, 2023.
Premise
In the wake of Bruce Wayne's death, his adopted son Turner Hayes forges an unlikely alliance with runaways Harper and Cullen Row, and the criminal Duela, when they are all framed for the murder and publicly accused of committing it by the Gotham City Police Department and District Attorney Harvey Dent. The four youths attempt to clear their names and find out who really killed Bruce Wayne, with help from Turner's friend Stephanie Brown and Turner's classmate Carrie Kelley, who secretly operates as Robin. The mystery of who framed them soon leads to the Court of Owls.[2] Over time, they evolve into becoming Gotham's new protectors known as the "Gotham Knights".
Cast
Main
Oscar Morgan as Turner Hayes, Bruce Wayne's adoptive son and a student at Gotham Academy who is alleged to have hired the three people framed for killing Bruce. Turner Hayes is an original character for the series and does not come from the comics.[3][4]
Olivia Rose Keegan as Duela, widely believed to be the daughter of the late Joker, who is among those framed for Bruce Wayne's murder. Elle Lisic portrays a younger Duela.
Navia Robinson as Carrie Kelley / Robin, a student at Gotham Academy and the current sidekick of Batman who allies with Turner to find the true culprits of Batman's murder.
Fallon Smythe as Harper Row, a young streetwise engineer and Cullen's sister who is among those framed for Bruce Wayne's murder.
Tyler DiChiara as Cullen Row, Harper's brother who is among those framed for Bruce Wayne's murder.
Anna Lore as Stephanie Brown, a student at Gotham Academy, Turner's best friend, and an expert coder. She allies with Turner to help find the true culprits of Batman's murder.
Rahart Adams as Brody March, the son of Lincoln March and a fellow student at Gotham Academy.
K.K. Moggie as Cressida Clarke, Bruce Wayne's attaché who helped watch over Turner when he was younger, but who is secretly working for the Court of Owls
Ethan Embry as Arthur Brown, the father of Stephanie Brown and the host of the game show "Quiz Bowl"
Guest
David Miller as Bruce Wayne / Batman (uncredited), the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, adoptive father of Turner, and vigilante who is found murdered.
Joel Keller as Detective Ford, a detective of the Gotham City Police Department working for Harvey Dent who is among the police officers that tried to kill Turner and the suspects of Bruce Wayne's death.
Fiona Byrne as Commissioner Yindel, a commissioner in the Gotham City Police Department
Randall Newsome as Hamilton Hill, the Mayor of Gotham City who is in league with the Court of Owls. The Court of Owls kill him with a limousine rigged with a poison gas bomb after he served his purpose.
Keil Oakley Zepernick as Vernon Wagner, the super-strong leader of the Mutants
Veronica Cartwright as Eunice Harmon, an elderly lady and resident of a retirement home near Robinson Park who is the daughter of known serial killer Felix Harmon.
Perris Drew as Titus Jones, the son of dead Wayne lawyer Pericles Jones who confronts Turner and Harper when they break and enter into his house.
Turner Hayes is the adoptive son of Bruce Wayne who has his attaché Cressida watch over him when he is busy. In the wake of Bruce Wayne's death, his identity as Batman is also revealed. Joker's alleged daughter Duela Dent, siblings Harper and Cullen Row are arrested after an attempted break in at Wayne Tower for stealing the gun that Joe Chill used to murder Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne and become prime suspects in Wayne's murder. Turner, who didn't know Bruce was Batman, and his best friend Stephanie Brown discover the Batcave after the funeral. Brown learns that money had been wired from Turner's account to the suspects and is arrested as well. Bruce's friend Harvey Dent tells Turner that Bruce's lawyers don't want to represent them as Dent receives pressure from Commissioner Yindel. With no other choice, Turner teams up with the suspects to break out and figure out the true murderer and clear their names. They receive aid from Carrie Kelley in her Robin alias after she saves them from Detective Ford and his fellow police officers who want them dead. While hiding in the Belfry at Gotham Academy, they also learn that the secret organization the Court of Owls are somehow involved when a mysterious masked operative kills Ford.
As Turner and his allies stock up on necessities, Mayor Hamilton Hill puts together a task force that will be overseen by Harvey Dent as they take everything out of the Batcave which Cressida denied any knowledge that it was beneath Wayne Manor. Brody March warns Stephanie about helping to prove Turner's innocence. Afterwards, Stephanie meets the rest of the group in the Belfry. When Harvey and Commissioner Sato try to call Detective Ford and those with them, they find their phones and their severed heads in the packages that were delivered to Gotham City Police Department HQ. In their first step to find out who framed them, Turner proposes to Duela, Harper, and Cullen that they join Carrie's Robin alias in returning to the scene of the crime using one the Wayne Security vehicles. While Stephanie is interrogated by Harvey as Brody comes in, Turner's group heads to Wayne Tower where Turner and Robin obtain all of Bruce's journals. The arrival of a Talon causes Turner and Robin to avoid it when the alarms are set off causing Duela to flee. Robin evacuates Turner, Harper, and Cullen as Turner takes a sword. Duela takes the vehicle to an antique dealer that she met up with earlier as he pulls a gun on her upon finding out about the watch. He is then killed by another Talon who traps Duela in a car that it sets on fire as she burns her hand trying to exit it. Turner and Robin face off against the Talon while Harper and Cullen free Duela. After Turner gets injured and Carrie uses an explosive to weaken the Talon, everyone gets away. After their respectful injuries are tended to, Duela thanks Turner for saving her life as they find the last entries of the latest journal missing. Cressida meets with Mayor Hill where they are both associates of the Court of Owls as Mayor Hill has Cressida see to it that the Court of Owls keeps him in office for as long as possible. Back at GCPD HQ, Brody tells Stephanie that he has taken the blame for the hacking to help find proof of Turner's innocence. Robin returns to her apartment where she has the final pages as she works to figure out what Bruce has been preparing Turner for.
Robin takes down the Mutants leader Vernon Wagner by improvising a taser and leaving him for the police where credit was given to them by Mayor Hamilton Hill. Stephanie runs into Brody who has been absolved of the charges and his parents Lincoln March and Rebecca Marsh "punish" him by having him come to the upcoming Founders Gala. While Cullen poses as a police officer from the Somerset District's precinct to access the files on Alan Wayne's murder, Turner follows Robin to one of the Mutants' warehouses and saves her from a Mutant. They find that the Mutants have built a gas bomb following a raid on Ace Chemicals that ended with them blowing up a GCPD airship. At the Gala, Stephanie interacts with Brody's parents Rebecca and Lincoln March who then meet with Mayor Hill and Harvey Dent. After Stephanie sneaks away after receiving a warning from Turner, the Mutants led by their lieutenant attack the gala and hold everyone hostage. They will detonate a chemical bomb if Wagner is not released while also looting the attendees. While Turner, Duela, Harper, and Robin sneak in and fight the Mutants, Mayor Hill gives in to the demands and orders for Wagner to be released. As Stephanie and Harper work to disarm the poison gas bomb which will be set off anyway, Turner gets Harvey alone and begs him to trust him about the Mutants' other goal. While Robin and Duela take out the other Mutant members, Harvey subdues the Mutant Lieutenant. Stephanie disarms the bomb, which upsets Harper as she wanted to do it her way. Though the Mutants members are arrested, Wagner is still free. As Turner's group reads the files about Alan Wayne's murder, Duela finds that some of the loot she recovered has watches that have the Court of Owls' symbols on the back of them. Turner tells Robin that they will get Wagner next time. The next day, Dent announces his candidacy for Mayor of Gotham City as Mayor Hill is killed in a poison gas-rigged limousine set up by the Court of Owls.
In the park, a man named Pericles Jones claims to be hearing voices. Despite a patrol officer's attempts to calm him down, Pericles shoots himself. In light of Mayor Hamilton Hill's death, Lincoln March enters the mayoral race against Harvey Dent as Commissioner Sato leads the investigation into Mayor Hill's death. Turner learns that Pericles, one of Bruce Wayne's lawyers, died with similar wounds like other alleged victims of the Talon, caused by his knife. For Stephanie to get into the police database, Cullen poses as a police officer to plant a device to help them and has an encounter with Harvey. Turner and Harper go to Pericles' house at night and sneak in where they meet his son Titus. He does mention that Pericles acted strangely when meeting Bruce Wayne and turns on the lights to show writing everywhere about the Court of Owls. Comparing the salvaged blade to the one wielded by executed serial killer/former knife thrower Felix Harmon, Carrie and a disguised Duela head to a retirement home near Robinson Park to talk with Felix's daughter Eunice. She mentions a lot of things about her father which starts to creep them out as she recites the Court of Owls poem. As Turner goes to Wayne Manor to speak with Cressida, Stephanie finds a connection between Cressida and the Court of Owls as Cressida pulls a gun on Turner when Stephanie's call tries to warn him. Turner learned from Cressida that she didn't want Turner's plight to happen and she poisoned Bruce with a special poison to slow his reflexes before the Talon killing him. Some of the Court of Owls members led by the Owl Magister show up as its leader offers to make Turner's plight go away. The Talon was also brought in should he resist. Just then, Robin shows up and helps Turner get away where they collapse part of the Batcave onto the Talon. Harvey makes use of the key that was dropped when he ran into a disguised Cullen which unlocks Mayor Hill's limo. Duela reveals that she managed to swipe Eunice's music box. While eliminating Duela's known fingerprints on there, Stephanie finds that the other fingerprints on there are of Felix Harmon which could mean he was the Talon the whole time. The Court of Owls gather around the salvaged and broken Talon as it suddenly heals and pulls itself back together.
A bar is burned down by the most dangerous mob in Gotham, the McKillens, because they were short on their protection money. Carrie is woken up by her mother who tells her she might not be able to come to the Parents' Luncheon due to her work. Stephanie arrives in the Belfry and explains that the Court uses shell companies to hide their financial transactions. This leads the team to a warehouse which Harper recognizes as a stronghold for the McKillens. Harvey talks with psychiatrist Chase Meridian about his fear of becoming like his father who apparently had a split personality disorder. With Harper's knowledge, due to her relationship with the boss' son Dylan, they break-in in order to steal the ledger and follow the money to the Court. Meanwhile, Stephanie tries to keep her mother Crystal Brown out of trouble and warns Carrie that her mother is at the Luncheon. They find the ledger and the money but Dylan holds them at gunpoint. He wants to hand them over to the police but Turner knocks him out. They manage to escape with a van by throwing money on the street. Harvey gets rid of the key and hears a strange music during a phone call. Later, they are officially given the name "Gotham Knights" as the cities new protectors by the media. Carrie heads home just in time before her mother catches her. Harper and Cullen talk about how she used the mob's money for his surgery. Duela tells Turner she likes his new tendency to break the rules. Harvey wakes up in bed with Lincoln March's wife and does not remember calling her.
The most famous criminal in Gotham, Joe Chill, is about to be executed and calls Harvey Dent. He wants to talk to Turner and offers information about the Court. Stephanie goes to her father for help with the ledger but only receives cryptic words. Harvey organizes a meeting with the help of Stephanie and Turner reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, Stephanie, Harper, Cullen and Duela work together to crack the code of the ledger. Following a clue from Stephanie's father Arthur Brown, they use a book cypher. Turner learns from Joe Chill that he too was framed for the murder of Bruce's parents. Chill wants to give more information, but the governor intervenes and the execution begins. Chill starts to quote a part of the nursing rhyme "that watches all the time". After figuring out the ledger, the Knights find the location of opioid dealers and take them out. Stephanie almost gets shot but Harper saves her. Harvey tries to warn Lincoln March, but the Talon stabs him. Turner comforts Stephanie for being the one person who always believed in him. She then leaves for the hospital where Brody and Carrie are volunteering. Mrs. Kelley says to Brody that his father is out of danger. Harvey shatters a mirror out of anger and stares into his broken image.
An art thief steals paintings in Gotham, so the GCPD brings in an expert named Detective Green. The Gotham Knights take an interest once they realize the paintings once belonged to Allan Wayne. Meanwhile, Duela kidnaps Eunice Harmon in order to gain information about the Talon. Duela and Carrie interrogate her and she tells them about a substance which kept her father alive but she does not know what it is. This leads to Eunice almost killing Duela and stabbing her hand. Harvey helps Rebecca and they rekindle their romance. Turner, Stephanie, Harper, and Cullen catch the art thief who turns out to be Detective Green. The Court blackmailed her with her family to steal the paintings. Because of her injury, Cullen and Turner take the painting instead. They exchange Green's family for Eunice. Stephanie bandages Harper's wound. Duela and Carrie find pictures of the Court within the music box. Cressida seeks help from Harvey because the Court is planning something that could impact the entirety of Gotham. The Court members burn the paintings in order to reveal what is hidden underneath.
The Gotham Knights take down several criminal operations thanks to the ledger but they have trouble actually taking down the Court. Finally, they find the location of one of the Courts secret parties which changes every time with the Court of Owls watches and the clue given by Joe Chill. Turner and Duela infiltrate the party in an old electric power station disguised as Court members with mask. The leader of the Owls speaks of a substance named Electrum which would give them immortality just like the Talon. They want to find it using Alan Wayne's map hidden under one of his paintings. Turner and Duela take the map, but he helps Cressida who was taken and nearly killed for her betrayal. He beheads the Talon and flees with her. Duela gets outside with Carrie's help, but Turner is not there. Meanwhile, Stephanie goes home to find her mother wasted from alcohol. She takes her pills, but her father gets angry and blames her for everything because he worries about their reputation. Harvey is worried because Lincoln March knows about his affair with Rebecca and he is looking for Cressida who disappeared from the safehouse. He only finds a recorder which plays the music again. Finally, Cressida tries to explain to Turner that she wants to go against the Court because with Electrum they would be unstoppable and remain forever. Bruce Wayne had to die because he wanted to give his fortune to the people of Gotham which would undermine the Court's power. The leader kills Cressida and takes Turner. Carrie, Harper, and Cullen convince Duela to regroup, although she wants to save Turner right away. The leader of the Court of Owls is revealed to be Lincoln March. Harvey wakes up at the meeting place with an owl mask and blood on his hand.
The Knights try to find a way to get Turner back and discover a possible location of Electrum which they want to use for negotiation. The first site is wrong but they find another hidden clue in another one of Alan Wayne's paintings and ultimately the Electrum. Harvey makes a video journal describing his black-outs and proclaiming his innocence. Meanwhile, Turner is put under hallucinations due to the poison on the Talon's knife. He imagines meeting his parents who accuse him of forgetting them and that he never tried to find their murderer. Lincoln March reveals to him that Batman was responsible for their deaths. Stephanie and Harper find out the Court is hiding out at Wayne Manor. Duela and Carrie argue whether the Court should have the Electrum. Cullen makes a duplicate. Turner refuses to join the Court and Duela and Cullen burst in. Lincoln slashes Turners' throat, so Carrie saves him using the real Electrum which she gives to Lincoln. They head back to the Belfry. Cullen comforts Carrie about giving away the electrum. Turner breaks down causing Duela to scream for help. Meanwhile, Harvey watches as his alternate personality talks to him from a recording.
Turner has radioactive poisoning due to direct contact of the Electrum with his blood. Carrie reveals that she took the missing pages of Batman's diary and she knew that he was in some way responsible for the death of Turner's parents. Turner angrily sends her away. Stephanie meets Brody and tells him the truth after he found his father's mask and a video of Cressida's murder. Meanwhile, Harvey takes sleeping pills in order to talk with his alternate self in a dream. His alternate personality reveals that the Court wants to frame him and triggers the switch with a recording of piano music. The other Harvey also states that he killed their father. They fight over dominance and Harvey wins as he wakes up. He is later visited by Chase Meridian. Carrie smuggles Turner into the hospital and her mother saves him with a blood transfusion. This causes Carrie to come clean about her secret life as Robin. Turner and Duela make love for the first time. Brody tells the truth to his mother and she kills him, revealing herself to be the true leader of the Court of Owls. Lincoln resurrects Brody with Electrum as he awakens in a casket.
Duela and Turner, after a lengthy and deeply satisfying sexual encounter, leave the Belfry to celebrate Duela's birthday. A worried Cullen visits Carrie and learns the truth about the missing pages of Bruce's diary. Stephanie wants to tell the police everything, but Lincoln March blackmails her by having her father arrested for buying prescriptions drugs from a doctor. Stephanie refuses to help her father because that would mean losing her friends and enabling her mother's addiction. Meanwhile, Turner and Duela meet Duela's mother Jane Doe who drugs him for the reward money, without Duela's knowledge. Turner regretfully says he can't leave Gotham with them, and Duela is hurt. Jane captures Harvey and claims they had an affair which resulted in Duela, and then Harvey had Jane committed to Arkham. Jane tells Duela she arranged with the Joker to pretend he was her father so she'd be protected, and he only abandoned her after she was able to look out for herself. Stephanie argues with her mother and Harper defends her. Together, they save Turner by tricking the police into having Cullen pick him up under the alias of Officer Hines. Realizing his alter ego caused this, Harvey tries to convince them. Under Jane's influence, Duela shoots him. Turner reconciles with Cullen while Stephanie moves into the Belfry and kisses Harper. Harvey survived thanks to the coin, but the truth about Duela's parentage was leaked to sabotage his campaign--the Court was behind Jane's release from Arkham. Duela and her mother celebrate, but she still doesn't know Jane's real motives, or what she nearly did to Turner. Rebecca receives a call from Harvey, and clearly still has feelings for him.
Lincoln is sworn in as the new Mayor of Gotham and has Harvey fired. Stephanie and Harper sneak into his penthouse and recover the footage of Cressida's murder, but are forced to hide on the hidden thirteenth floor where they find and free Brody who tells them of his mother's involvement and finds himself reviving after taking a hit from the attackers. Turner suspects that Wayne Tower had a similar hidden floor where the Talon was waiting to murder Bruce and a disguised Cullen tells Harvey to investigate. Brody tells the Knights about an upcoming Court gathering. By the time they arrive, they find Lincoln and the Court members murdered by Rebecca and her newly resurrected Talons, shortly before they are arrested by the GCPD. Rebecca then confronts Harvey, who discovered her true identity as Dr. Rebekah Leviticus, the Court scientist who experimented on Electrum to live for a century. Though she claims to genuinely love him, he rejects her, so Rebecca has him taken away. Meanwhile, Duela initially considers running away with her mother after swiping some specific watches, but decides to rescue her friends only for Jane Doe to sedate her. Rebecca then dispatches her Talons to kill the Gotham Knights and anyone else in their way.
13
"Night of the Owls"
Jeffrey Hunt
Teleplay by : Chad Fiveash & James Stoteraux Story by : Alegre Rodriquez & Michelle Furtney-Goodman
While the Knights are questioned by the police, Rebecca takes Duela hostage in order to force Harvey's other side out. Turner learns Batman was acting in self-defense when he caused the death of his parents, who were assassins dispatched by Henri Ducard. The Talons arrive to kill the Knights, but Commissioner Soto frees them and they fight back, but Carrie's mother gets hurt. Duela contacts the others over the phone connected to the bomb, which reveals Rebecca's plan to destroy all the buildings designed by Alan Wayne and cover her tracks. Duela bonds with Harvey and he lets his other self out who tries to kill Rebecca and gets burned with acid. When Harper and Stephanie suggest detonating Wayne Tower to prevent Duela from taking the option of saving herself at the price of many other lives, Turner says he believes in her, and they agree to mount a rescue effort. Duela proves Turner right, by refusing to cooperate with Rebecca's plan to frame her. Brody overdoses his mother with Electrum to prevent her from killing Turner. Duela is deeply moved by Turner coming for her, and they share a kiss. Turner wants to find his father's journals, so goes back for them. Before Turner can get out, he is wounded by Rebecca as the Talons close in. Before the building explodes, French mercenaries arrive where they shoot Rebecca and her Talons with advanced weaponry, and then take Turner prisoner. The horrorstruck Knights watch the building implode, and Duela screams. The team, inspired by Duela's grief-stricken decision to go on fighting in Turner's memory, decide to stay together. In the final scene, Turner, still alive, meets Henri Ducard, who says he trained not only his parents but Bruce Wayne, and now he's going to train Turner, whose life in Gotham he says is over, now that everyone there believes he's dead. Turner seems unconvinced.
Production
Development
In December 2021, it was reported that a television series adaptation was in development at The CW. The series was written by Natalie Abrams, James Stoteraux, and Chad Fiveash, all of whom also served as executive producers with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and David Madden through Berlanti Productions.[2] The video game of the same title also takes place in a post-Bruce Wayne Gotham and also features the Court of Owls as antagonists,[21] but the projects are unrelated.[2] In February 2022, The CW ordered a pilot episode to evaluate.[22][23] When designing the costumes for the pilot, costume designer Jennifer May Nickel, worked with writers Stoteraux and Fiveash, to incorporate aspects of the uniform from the Gotham Academy comic books.[24] In May 2022, The CW picked up Gotham Knights to series.[25]
In May 2023, Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment at The CW, stated that Gotham Knights was among series that were not profitable directly for The CW and was more expensive than series imported for The CW such as Sullivan's Crossing.[26] On June 12, 2023, The CW canceled the series after one season.[1] Showrunners Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux stated on June 14 that Warner Bros. Discovery and Berlanti Productions had tried to find another outlet to pick up the series for months before the cancellation, but had been unsuccessful.[27]
Casting
In March 2022, Fallon Smythe and Tyler DiChiara were cast for the pilot,[28] followed by Oscar Morgan, Olivia Rose Keegan, and Navia Robinson shortly afterward.[29][30]Misha Collins revealed that he would portray Harvey Dent.[31] Anna Lore also joined the cast, portraying Stephanie Brown.[32] In April, Rahart Adams was cast as Brody,[33] whose parents were cast in recurring roles for Lauren Stamile and Damon Dayoub after the pilot was picked up to series.[34] In January 2023, Ethan Embry and Sunny Mabrey were cast in recurring capacities as Cluemaster and Crystal Brown.[35] In March 2023, Doug Bradley joined the cast in a recurring role as Joe Chill,[36] with Bradley indicating that he was a fan of Batman but was unaware of who Joe Chill was in the Batman mythology.[37]
Filming
Filming for the pilot episode began in April 2022 throughout Toronto, Ontario.[38] Filming for the rest of the season began in Atlanta, Georgia on September 13, 2022.[39]
Release
The first trailer was released on May 31, 2022.[40] The series premiered on March 14, 2023[41] and the series finale aired on June 27, 2023.[42] It was released on the Max streaming service on July 28, 2023.[43]
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 25% with an average rating of 5/10, based on 12 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Never send amateurs to do a Batman's job."[44] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[45]
Ratings
Viewership and ratings per episode of Gotham Knights
