For some reason, Gotham is going to be similar in style to the Gotham Central comics with one major difference Batman won't be in it. However, Bruce Wayne will. A 10 or 12 year old Bruce Wayne. What's that famous Hollywood phrase about not working with kids... Why is Batman not in a show about Gotham and why is he a child? What's so important about showing the origins of characters before they become interesting? It's not. But crucially, once Bruce grows up and becomes 21-22 (about the age he is in Year One when he becomes Batman), Gordon will be in his 40s, Bullock in his 50s (if not 60s), Montoya in her 40s/50s, and everyone else his rogues gallery - will be much older. What's heroic about a young twenty-something in prime physical health going up against middle-aged geezers? Nothing. Setting it in the past is just baffling it's a time when none of the characters become at all interesting, nor is it a time when the most interesting person in the DC Universe, and the whole reason anyone would watch this show, Batman, becomes Batman.