HBO Max's the horrors of Arkham Asylum.
The Batman TV show, which has been referred to as Gotham Central, Gotham P.D. and FOX's Gotham ended.
However, the two Batman-related TV shows are still vastly different from one another, despite heavily focusing on the city of Gotham and its Arkham Asylum inmates whole. While the FOX series followed Gordon as the central character, it was partially a Batman origin story. The prequel show took place in a world where the Caped Crusader had yet arrived as its ultimate protector and was witnessing the further corruption of Gotham City. The Batman TV show, however, will take place in a universe where Bruce has been operating as Batman for one year, officially taking place before the 2022 film.
The Batman TV Spinoff Show Fixes Gotham's Mistakes
Originally, The Batman TV show Gotham Central would follow the Gotham City PD as they're just beginning to learn about the Dark Knight without Matt Reeves used in The Batman, it's clear that the spinoff will pay closer attention to the true darkness that lurks in Gotham city.
How The Batman Sets Up The HBO Max TV Show
The Batman sets up the new HBO Max series in a number of ways. First, it establishes the gritty realistic tone that's necessary for the subject matter. Arkham Asylum isn't a nice place by any standard of the imagination and there's no doubt that the noir/crime-drama aesthetics will only enhance the horrors that inmates inflict on one another and the Asylum's treatment of Gotham's most wanted in general. Second, The Batman TV show has been opened up to a world of multiple villains all playing a role within the city thanks to Matt Reeves' film, something that Christopher Nolan's Paul Dano's Riddler caused huge amounts of destruction to the entirety of Gotham city, whereas previous one-off villains in other Batman TV shows and movies were not as much of a total threat. The Batman pays better homage to the myriad of comics and videogames that came before it through its portrayal of actually dangerous villains.
Whether or not they'll draw from the Gotham Central comic series or the Arkham Asylum graphic novel remains to be seen. But it wouldn't be shocking if they do end up drawing elements from Gotham Central as it became a critically acclaimed series in the entire Batman mythology. Unlike Gotham, The Batman TV show could now maybe explore other GD characters such as Renée Montoya and Crispus Allen, as well as more of Batman's interesting villains that haven't gotten any screentime. The idea of a Batman-connected show that is set in the same world as The Batman universe is exciting and has a platform that is perhaps more suited to explore the inner (and darker) workings of the GD and Arkham Asylum more than maybe FOX's Gotham could.
