Actress Jada Pinkett Smith delivered the ultimate spoiler when she announced on “Live With Kelly and Michael” that she would be leaving “Gotham” at the end of her one-year contract.
Executive producer Danny Cannon was among the show personnel caught by surprise. “Of course one would always like the show to speak for itself. But in this world of constant media, it’s impossible to do so,” he says diplomatically.
When the season finale airs Monday night, the fate of Smith’s character, butch villainess Fish Mooney, will not be left in doubt.
“She meets a very comic-novel demise,” says Cannon, who would not rule out resurrecting the character down the line if he can lure Smith back to the show. Despite her indiscretion, he’s still a fan. “When we put her in the pilot we didn’t know how grandiose we could make these people, but she burst forth with all these colors,” he says.
“Gotham” may have learned to live with the Fish Mooney spoiler, but producers have allowed the character to have more surprises up her sleeve, figuring her in the showdown between the show’s crime bosses, Falcone (John Doman) and Maroni (David Zayas). The series’ most resilient character, Oswald Cobblepot, a k a Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), will also flex his muscle, turning on Falcone.
“He pitted these crime families against each other so they can tear each other apart and he can emerge in charge,” says Taylor.
Penguin’s ability to literally bounce back — from being shot and knocked into the Hudson River at the beginning of the season — makes him a real survivor, and an operator.
“He was treated as a second-class citizen because of the way he looks,” says Taylor, who received a drama degree at Northwestern. “What he learned is to ingratiate himself with people. Learn everything there is to know about a person and pit them against their enemies.”
“Penguin’s the villain you love to hate,” Cannon says. “If Season 1 was about the rise of the Penguin, in Season 2, he tries to reign. That’s where the problems really start.”
“I don’t think he’s really prepared to really become a crime boss,” says Taylor. “The target on his back is 10 times bigger than before.”
Penguin’s the villain you love to hate.
- Danny Cannon, 'Gotham' executive producer
Cannon hints that Penguin will have plenty of corrupt company on the show, which starts production in June at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.
“The second season is about the creation of uber villains,” Cannon says. “We want to keep them coming. ‘Gotham’ keeps churning out these chaotic people.”
And don’t count out Falcone, who dreams of retirement in Monday’s finale. “Falcone will represent a Godfather-like order over the underworld,” Cannon says.
While mayhem may rule the streets of “Gotham,” there is one oasis on the show: Wayne Manor, where young Bruce (David Mazouz), still withdrawn after the season-premiere death of his parents, is about to learn “the truth about his father’s secret identity,” Cannon says.
“Season 2 asks the question: What kind of man will Bruce turn into, given the information he attains? Will he be an introvert or join society? To become Batman, a lot more damage had to be done to him. We will see the beginning of a new Bruce Wayne.”
Don’t miss these other cool finales, too
“New Girl”
Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Fox
“The Big Bang Theory”
Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBS
“Revenge”
Sunday at 10 p.m. on ABC
After four seasons of seeking vengeance, Hamptons socialite Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) is finally backed into a corner and forced to admit her guilt. But if the episode’s title, “Two Graves,” is any indication, she may not be willing to admit defeat without a fight. Series finale.