Critics have already begun to share their thoughts on The CW’s upcoming superhero series, Gotham Knights, and the early reviews are negative.
Despite the Arrowverse winding down, The CW still adheres to its annual tradition of releasing a new DC TV show this season.
The show will focus on Turner Hayes, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne, who is falsely accused of his father’s murder, along with several children of Batman’s adversaries.
Despite being promoted since last spring, Gotham Knights has struggled with its marketing and faced fan backlash. The DC series is scheduled to debut on Tuesday, March 14th, at 9 PM, following the season 3 premiere of Superman & Lois.
With the premiere series fast approaching, the initial reviews for The CW show have been released this week.
A few critics watched the first few episodes in advance, and their early opinions on the show are mixed, to say the least.
Read some of the reviews by various critics:
Gotham Knights is far from perfect, but it is also a bit unlike anything else that The CW has tried when it comes to its DC-inspired series. While it struggles just a bit to get out of the gate, once it does it, delivers an interesting approach to a Gotham-centered, Batman-adjacent story that’s got just enough mystery and enough comic book DNA to make it an intriguing watch. Whether that will be enough to keep things going in what is an interesting time for the network remains to be seen, but this is a series that is worth investigating.
Nicole Drum, Comic Book
This show was not what I thought it was going to be. It definitely is a younger skewed, high school drama-esque series that screams the CW from the rooftop. However, it was also fun as hell to watch with some fantastic castings to help alleviate any complaints. There’s also plenty of action and a good mystery in which to get lost in solving. It has some great characters and character moments. It’s a fun, but perhaps messy, show that, if you’re like me, you’ll be needing to tune in every week.
Brian Kitson, The Cosmic Circus
Gotham Knights season 1 episode 1 kicks off with a ton of action and is a great start to the series, despite its few flaws. The second half of the six episodes I was sent are a vast improvement on the first in terms of story, dialogue, and overall feel. The mystery gets more and more intense, with twists and turns thrown at viewers left and right. Add in the massive amount of love the creators clearly have for the DC universe, and Gotham Knights is sure to make fans happy. They might not be completely hooked, but they will certainly be intrigued to see what happens next.
Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
As both new and existing CW shows line up to enter their premiere night starting gates, they are eyeing each other nervously, aware that the ratings race to Primetime 2023/24 is likely to have only one or two winners, and no runners-up. If ‘Gotham Knights’ is to earn a second season it will need to stand apart from previous CW superhero shows, not emulate them. There are so many things to enjoy about this new show which we would enjoy even more if it were to take a couple of risks, spread its wings, and truly embrace its more unique elements.
Jennifer Griffin, TV Pulse Magazine
To really enjoy Gotham Knights, one must be completely open to a reinvention of the mythos, framed under the auspices of a typical CW teen drama, albeit with superheroes and unrelenting assassins. Those with a more cursory familiarity with the Dark Knight might enjoy this show more, taking it as a street-level superhero drama, but there are so many references to the mythos that it doesn’t feel geared towards comic fans as a target audience. Like Batman himself in this series, Gotham Knights is unfortunately dead on arrival unless it drastically improves as the season progresses.
Sam Stone, Comic Book Resources
It’s unfortunate for Gotham Knights that it’s debuting in this way at this time, because it’s a fun show that might just be too buried in too many messes and too many Batmen to have a chance to live up to its potential.
Lauren Piester, GameSpot
Ultimately, Gotham Knights is a Batman universe show for a very specific audience: Those who enjoy The CW formula and don’t mind if a DCTV series doesn’t have very many recognizable comics characters. The Gotham Knights series premiere doesn’t make the best case for its ability to weave together its DC and drama elements, but there is potential for an enjoyable campy show. It’s certainly not the strongest DC pilot The CW has aired, but those who can get past its flaws may find something to enjoy. Whether that’s enough to help Gotham Knights survive The CW’s new ownership remains to be seen.
Molly Freeman, Screen Rant
Will Gotham Knights Continue Beyond This Season?
It remains to be seen how critics and the general audience will receive Gotham Knights, but the real question is what the future holds for the show on The CW.
In 2022, The CW underwent a change in ownership. WarnerMedia and Paramount sold 75% of their rights to Nexstar, with each retaining 12.5%. Since then, the new leadership at The CW has made it clear that they are changing their programming strategy.
Initially, it was expected that The CW would have five or fewer scripted shows for the 2023-2024 TV season, but the renewal of All-American led to a change in the number. Currently, the network is expected to pick up only two additional shows.
With several ongoing series getting ready to air their season finales around the same time that Gotham Knights debuts, the network will have to decide which shows to keep and which ones to let go.
The fate of Gotham Knights will likely not be revealed until later in the season when the network can assess its ratings and reception.
Whether The CW will choose to air more than one DC TV series in the upcoming season is uncertain. Additionally, it is unclear if Superman & Lois will be renewed after season 3.
This could result in competition between the veteran Arrowverse series and Gotham Knights for a 2023-2024 slot.
However, for now, fans can watch the premiere of Gotham Knights season 1 in about two weeks.
About Gotham Knights
Gotham Knights is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by WB Games Montréal and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
Inspired by the Batman: Gotham Knights comic series, the game focuses on Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood as they attempt to restore justice to Gotham City in the immediate aftermath of Batman’s death. While investigating Batman’s disappearance, the heroes go against the Court of Owls, a secret society and their legion of brainwashed assassins called Talons.
It is set to be released on October 21, 2022, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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