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"Fox looks to be betting big on its new series Gotham. It&amp;#039;s true that the project&amp;#039;s comic book roots practically guarantee it an in-built fanbase, giving it a natural advantage over the other pilots vying for a spot on the US network&amp;#039;s schedule. But to announce a 13-episode order ahead of May upfronts - not to mention debuting the show&amp;#039;s first trailer in the prime 24 launch slot - suggests that the broadcaster has supreme confidence in the Batman prequel.      Gotham could well be US television&amp;#039;s next worldwide smash - but if you&amp;#039;re still unsure about what the show has to offer, the Week in Geek is here to help, with vital answers to 12 burning questions. Batman prequel Gotham: Why Ben McKenzie is the perfect Jim Gordon 1. What is Gotham all about? Gotham is a new drama series inspired by the Batman mythos. Its lead is a young Jim Gordon, cleaning up the city&amp;#039;s dark and dangerous streets in his pre-Commissioner days as a rookie detective.  2. How long has this been in the works? Reports that Fox had ordered a Gotham City origins tale first emerged in September 2013 - with filming on the pilot episode kicking off in March of this year. 3. Who is playing Jim Gordon? Ben McKenzie is the man fronting Gotham - the 35-year-old actor is still best known for his role as brooding teen rebel Ryan Atwood on glossy, witty teen soap The OC but since that show wrapped in 2007, he&amp;#039;s won plaudits for playing the character of Ben Sherman on gritty cop drama Southland - which seems like fitting preparation for taking on one of the Bat-verse&amp;#039;s best-loved characters.  4. Will Batman be in it? Sort of - while you shouldn&amp;#039;t expect to see any actor sporting the familiar cape and cowl, Touch child star David Mazouz (yes, he of &amp;quot;Jake! JAKE!&amp;quot; fame) will star as a young Bruce Wayne on the series. Grieving his parents&amp;#039; deaths, the future Batman will be mentored by McKenzie&amp;#039;s compassionate cop. 5. What about the Dark Knight&amp;#039;s supporting cast? Sharing mentoring duties with Gordon will be Bruce&amp;#039;s butler Alfred Pennyworth, with Michael Caine&amp;#039;s performance in Christopher Nolan&amp;#039;s recent Batman film trilogy clearly influencing the decision to cast screen tough guy Sean Pertwee in the role. Meanwhile, Jim&amp;#039;s own mentor will be his veteran partner Harvey Bullock - brought to grizzled life by acclaimed character actor Donal Logue. Alongside these friends, Gotham is throwing in a few foes too. Batman&amp;#039;s rogues&amp;#039; gallery is well-represented, with appearances from Catwoman (Camren Bicondova), The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) and - as revealed by the new trailer - an infant Poison Ivy (Sinister star Clare Foley).  6. Who else is in the cast? Starring as original creation Fish Mooney - a glamorous but unforgiving Gotham gangster - is Jada Pinkett Smith, while Spin City legend Richard Kind will play Gotham&amp;#039;s beleaguered Mayor. John Doman - aka The Wire legend Rawls - is also a supporting player. 7. Who is in the director&amp;#039;s chair? Brit filmmaker Danny Cannon helmed the Gotham series premiere, having previously taken on such high-profile TV pilots as The Tomorrow People, Nikita and Alcatraz. 8. Who else is helping to bring Gotham to the screen? The mastermind behind the whole operation is Bruno Heller - another Brit and the man behind far-better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be CBS procedural The Mentalist, Heller is executive producer, head writer and showrunner on Gotham. Also jumping on board as an exec producer post-pilot is Gossip Girl&amp;#039;s John Stephens - who previously worked with McKenzie on The OC.  9. Does this have anything to do with Gotham Central? While it utilises some of the same concepts, Gotham is not a direct adaptation of Gotham Central - a comic that ran from 2003 to 2006 and followed Gotham City PD&amp;#039;s efforts to operate in a city where Batman was very much a presence. The comic&amp;#039;s writing team, Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, even stated in September last year that they had &amp;quot;no idea&amp;quot; if Gotham would draw any inspiration from their work, though Ben McKenzie did reveal on Twitter that he had been scouring back issues for inspiration. 10. Is this series linked to the DC Cinematic Universe? It appears that, while it&amp;#039;s being released into the world at approximately the same time, Gotham is in no way linked to Zack Snyder&amp;#039;s big-screen Batman vs Superman release - so David Mazouz is not intended as a younger version of Ben Affleck&amp;#039;s Caped Crusader. David Goyer - who is penning the Man of Steel sequel - has explained that Warner Bros would love to make the DC screen universe &amp;quot;more cohesive&amp;quot;, but discussions of this sort are still in the &amp;quot;early&amp;quot; stages and are unlikely to impact Gotham.  11. What about crossovers between Gotham and Arrow - or even its spinoff The Flash? Again, no - expect Gotham to be a separate entity to these shows. Arrow star Stephen Amell may have expressed his support for the project and its star on Twitter, but that&amp;#039;s about as close to an official crossover as we&amp;#039;re likely to get, since the odds of Fox working with The CW - sister network of its competitor CBS - are pretty long. 12. That all sounds great - but when and where can I watch Gotham? Fox is gearing the show up for a big fall launch, so expect Gotham to get going in the US in September or October at the very latest - we&amp;#039;ll know for certain once the network unveils its full 2014-15 schedule next Monday (May 12). At this early stage, Gotham is yet to secure a UK broadcaster, but as one of the most hotly-tipped properties to come out of this pilot season - and one with those Batman associations - the show will likely spark a bidding war in much the same way that Marvel&amp;#039;s Agents of SHIELD did last year. Are you excited for Gotham? Share your thoughts on DC&amp;#039;s latest live-action outing below. 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<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/gotham/feature/a569047/gotham-12-burning-questions-about-the-batman-tv-prequel/>