I'm not even sure if this counts as a spinoff, but that's no matter — the point here is that this new trend of milking already successful franchises for all they're worth by producing spinoffs and related products repackaged as new television shows NEEDS TO STOP, because we've already seen a Breaking Bad Saul Goodman prequel spinoff and a Walking Dead spinoff. But it won't stop — we may as well all get used to the idea of a Batman spinoff that doesn't actually feature Batman, because that is exactly what Fox is aiming to do with their new Commissioner Gordon-centric series.
According to Deadline, Fox has picked up the new series Gotham, which will be an origins story that'll focus on the Batman universe's Commissioner James Gordon, and the villains that make Gotham such a shitty place to live. Batman won't be involved because it will be set before Commissioner Gordon meets Batman, but they'll probably tease a "surprise appearance" or two that will turn out to be just shadows or something, because that's how primetime television works. The way this show sounds, Fox could probably just say, "Yo, we heard you like Batman, so we made a spin-off without Batman involved whatsoever, so content yourself with this random supporting character instead. Bitch," and it would explain the show about the same as a real summary description would.
Furthermore — a Commissioner Gordon show would follow a new trend in Hollywood: superhero shows about average joe law enforcement dudes. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., though created by Joss Whedon and an excellent series, still follows the superpower-less Agent Coulson. Are we going to get a whole TV show about some guy who sold Clark Kent coffee one time or something next?
No word on when Gotham will actually premiere, but it'll probably be at one point next year, considering Fox reportedly fought tooth and nail to land this show.
