Gotham season 2

The second season of the American television series Gotham, based on characters from DC Comics related to the Batman franchise, revolves around the characters of James "Jim" Gordon and Bruce Wayne. The season is produced by Primrose Hill Productions, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television, with Bruno Heller, Danny Cannon, John Stephens, and Ken Woodruff serving as executive producers.

The season was ordered in January 2015 and every cast member from the last season returned with the exception of Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya (who would later return for the third season of Batwoman); Andrew Stewart-Jones as Crispus Allen; John Doman as Carmine Falcone; and Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney, although both Doman and Pinkett Smith returned as guest stars. New additions to the cast include James Frain as Theo Galavan; Jessica Lucas as Tabitha Galavan; and Michael Chiklis as Captain Nathaniel Barnes. Also, Morena Baccarin, Chris Chalk, Drew Powell, and Nicholas D'Agosto were upped to series regulars after having recurred on the previous season. The season was broadcast over 2 runs: the first 11 episodes aired from September to November 2015; and the other 11 episodes aired from February to May 2016. The season also holds two subtitles. The first half of the season is subtitled Rise of the Villains while the second half is subtitled Wrath of the Villains. The season premiered on September 21, 2015, and concluded on May 23, 2016, on Fox.

Premise
Gotham has taken a major turn, with Penguin being the sole crime boss and commissioner Loeb being forced to retire. However, things start going haywire with the arrival of the Galavan family in Gotham; they seek revenge against the Wayne family over one of their ancestors being disgraced.

In the second half, Professor Hugo Strange has begun experimenting with resurrecting the dead and giving them unnatural abilities.

Main

 * Ben McKenzie as James "Jim" Gordon
 * Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock
 * David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne
 * Morena Baccarin as Leslie "Lee" Thompkins
 * Zabryna Guevara as Sarah Essen
 * Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot / Penguin
 * Erin Richards as Barbara Kean
 * Camren Bicondova as Selina "Cat" Kyle
 * Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma
 * James Frain as Theo Galavan / Azrael
 * Jessica Lucas as Tabitha Galavan
 * Chris Chalk as Lucius Fox
 * Drew Powell as Butch Gilzean
 * Nicholas D'Agosto as Harvey Dent
 * Michael Chiklis as Nathaniel Barnes

Recurring

 * Tonya Pinkins as Ethel Peabody
 * B. D. Wong as Hugo Strange
 * Ian Quinlan as Carl Pinkney
 * Natalie Alyn Lind as Silver St. Cloud
 * Melinda Clarke as Grace Van Dahl
 * Chelsea Spack as Kristin Kringle
 * Michelle Veintimilla as Bridgit Pike / Firefly
 * Ron Rifkin as Father Creel
 * Nathan Darrow as Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze
 * Cameron Monaghan as Jerome Valeska
 * Stink Fisher as Aaron Helzinger
 * Carol Kane as Gertrude Kapelnut
 * Anthony Carrigan as Victor Zsasz
 * Richard Kind as Mayor Aubrey James
 * Clare Foley as Poison Ivy

Notable guests

 * Peter Scolari as Gillian B. Loeb
 * Todd Stashwick as Richard Sionis
 * James Andrew O'Connor as Tommy Bones
 * Maria Thayer as Scottie Mullen
 * Mark Margolis as Paul Cicero
 * Michael Potts as Sid Bunderslaw
 * Raúl Castillo as Eduardo Flamingo
 * Michelle Gomez as The Lady
 * Tommy Flanagan as Tom "The Knife"
 * Kristen Hager as Nora Fries
 * Lori Petty as Jeri
 * Michael Bowen as Patrick "Matches" Malone
 * Paul Reubens as Elijah Van Dahl
 * John Doman as Carmine Falcone
 * Ned Bellamy as Warden Carlson Grey
 * Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney
 * Brian McManamon as Basil Karlo

Production
The show was officially renewed by Fox for a 22-episode second season on January 17, 2015.

For this season, the producers decided not to follow the "case-of-the-week" format of most episodes in the first season.

The season saw all series regulars from season 1 returning with the exception of Victoria Cartagena, and Andrew Stewart-Jones. John Doman and Jada Pinkett Smith, who were regulars on season 1, returned to the show in guest star positions. In June 2015, James Frain joined the series as billionaire industrialist Theo Galavan and Jessica Lucas was cast as Tabitha Galavan. Michael Chiklis then joined in July 2015 in the role of Captain Nathaniel Barnes, the GCPD's new captain and Gordon's ally who will one day become his enemy. The show also upgraded Morena Baccarin, Chris Chalk, Drew Powell and Nicholas D'Agosto from recurring or guest roles to series regulars.

The total cost of production for the second season of Gotham was $111 million.

Critical reviews
The second season of Gotham received positive reviews from critics, generally being regarded as an improvement over the first season. On Rotten Tomatoes the season has a rating of 74% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 6.58/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While still tonally uneven in season two, Gotham is back with a renewed focus, moving away from disjointed case-of-the-week plots into a darker, more stable serialized story." Metacritic gives the season a score of 62 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".