'The OC' and 'Southland' Star Ben McKenzie to Lead Fox's 'Gotham' Series

In the span of a few weeks I've gone from not caring a bit about Fox's planned Gotham series to really wanting to see how it turns out.There's been a great deal of shifting on the initial premise, which began as a show centered on a young Jim Gordon with nothing Batman related planned. But that's since changed into something more Smallville-like, and thus potentially more interesting. With Fox having the confidence to make a series commitment before an actual pilot, the only thing left is to start casting. And right off the bat they've made a solid move with Ben McKenzie coming aboard to play Gordon.

McKenzie, who made an excellent cop on TNT's underrated drama, Southland, and starred in The OC before that, will play young Detective James Gordon. This is obviously before he eventually earns the rank of Commissioner and starts building giant bat signals on roofs and stuff, but his fate and that of Bruce Wayne will still be intertwined. Gordon will be an integral part in Wayne's development in the wake of his parents' murder, leading to the boy donning the costume and defending the city.

This is a pretty big step up for McKenzie, but hardly his first time being involved with the Batman universe as he voiced the Dark Knight himself in WB's animated Batman: Year One.  We should start hearing about more casting soon, especially who will be playing the young Bruce Wayne. Bruno Heller (Rome) will be writing the pilot and exec-producing, with Danny Cannon (Nikita) directing.