FOX Exec Hopeful 'Gotham' Will Be Renewed for Season 5 and Beyond

Despite a difficult transition to Thursday nights, and a pretty hefty dip in its ratings, it looks as though Gotham still has a bright future at FOX.

At the Innovative TV Conference (INTV) in Israel, FOX chairman Gary Newman spoke with Deadline about some of its upcoming programming, as well as a few acclaimed shows that sit on the bubble of being renewed, or getting the axe. Of all the series that were mentioned in this conversation, Newman was the most hopeful about the future of WB's Batman prequel series, Gotham.

"We asked a lot of it this year moving to Thursday nights and I thought it did a pretty good job of opening up that night for us," Newman acknowledged. "I feel like Gotham should have a place in our schedule."

Unfortunately, that schedule seems to be the only thing standing in the way of a Gotham renewal. Newman goes on to note that the future of the series, while bright, is dependent on the network finding a new place for it.

According to Newman, a new season of Gotham will "purely be a matter of scheduling. Thursday is not available in the fall, so where do we use it? Hopefully there's more years of Gotham."

So, the scheduling seems to be an issue, and Newman's words indicate that Gotham could be on its way to its second schedule change in as many years. However, even with that issue staring the network in the face, it sounds as though FOX wants to move forward with Gotham in its lineup.

This faith in the series likely comes from the quality of the current season. Gotham has full embraced both the darker and wackier sides of the Batman comics canon, giving fans an experience that's very different from many of the other superhero shows on TV. The boost in critical and fan reception could be enough to overcome low ratings, and keep the Gotham train moving into Season 5 and beyond.

New episodes of Gotham air on Thursday nights at 8pm ET on FOX. This week's new episode, "A Dark Knight: Reunion," sees Ivy (Peyton List) taking another stab at Wayne Industries, and Lucius (Chris Chalk) and Jim (Ben McKenzie) crossing paths with an old friend. The episode is directed by Annabelle K. Frost.

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