Gotham fast-tracked to Asia

Pan-Asian channel WarnerTV has said it will air forthcoming US drama Gotham, a prequel to the Batman movies, soon after it premieres stateside on Fox.

Produced by Warner Bros TV, the one-hour action drama will focus on the DC Comics character Commissioner Gordon, played by Gary Oldman in the most recent Batman movie trilogy.

The OC’s Benjamin McKenzie will take the lead role, while The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller will exec produce.

The series will premiere this autumn in the US and will then be “fast-tracked” to Asian screens exclusively on WarnerTV, the broadcaster said. Exact scheduling for the series debut is yet to be announced.

Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific took full control of fellow Time Warner imprint WarnerTV in the region earlier this year.

Turner pledged to double the number of first-run series on WarnerTV in 2014 and increase programming hours by 30% following the deal.