All 32 DC TV shows ranked from worst to best

11. Gotham (2014 - 2019)

What a ride Gotham was.

The concept of a DC series focusing on a young Bruce Wayne prior to his vigilante days had been on the table for a long time, but that previously evolved into Smallville. It resurfaced shortly after that show concluded its decade-long run, kicking off on Fox in 2014, and introducing us to one of the most bonkers - but brilliant - takes on the Batman lore you could ever imagine.

It evolved quite a bit during its five-year run, starting off as a procedural that followed detectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock as they tried to solve the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne, while also cleaning up the streets one bad guy at a time. Over time, Bruce became more of a central character while the villains got even more focus too, making it more of an ensemble piece than its original incarnation. It also allowed the show to have much more fun, taking a ton of creative liberties such as introducing major Batman villains long before his arrival and even having multiple characters who could become the future Joker.

I'm sure comic book purists had many issues with the show but once you accept that Gotham is an Elseworlds tale that takes its own unique spin on the source material, I promise you you'll enjoy the heck out of it. It kept reinventing itself, which made each season more enjoyable than the previous ones. It also made the most out of the fact that it was a TV series, producing fun villain-of-the-week episodes while also balancing some really compelling long-form stories along the way.

We should normalize Gotham praise more often. Honestly not enough people give it the credit it deserves.