Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon, two of the producers from Gotham, have lined up another DC Comics prequel TV series: Pennyworth, a period piece centred around Alfred the butler, has been picked up for a full season by the cable network Epix. A 10-episode season of Pennyworth is expected to debut on Epix in 2019, the same year that will see Gotham‘s final season airing on Fox.
It’s unclear at this stage whether Pennyworth will be explicitly linked to Gotham in terms of canon, especially because Sean Pertwee’s name is nowhere to be seen on the initial announcement. Warner Bros Television does have a hand in both Pennyworth and Gotham, so perhaps a deal for Epix to share Fox’s Gotham continuity could come to pass. For now, though, we don’t know whether these shows exist in the same universe or not.
One thing we do have is a short plot summary:
“Pennyworth follows Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier who forms a security company and goes to work with Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s billionaire father, in 1960’s London.”
We also have this statement from Michael Wright, president of Epix:
“As genuine fans of these classic DC characters, as well as the incredibly talented Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon, we couldn’t be more excited to make Epix the home of this series. We can’t wait to work with Bruno and Danny – along with Peter Roth, Susan Rovner, Brett Paul and the team at Warner Horizon – on this fantastic origin story.”
Heller (who will executive produce) and Cannon (who will executive produce and direct the pilot episode) said this:
“Michael and his colleagues have created the perfect venue for original storytelling, and all of us working on Pennyworth are thrilled to be on the Epix slate.”
As we hear more about Pennyworth, we’ll be sure to let you know.