Batman's Police Chief Gets Spin-Off TV Show

Batman's ally in crime-ridden Gotham City's police force is to get his own series after a bidding war between US networks.

The series to be shown on FOX will focus on Police Commissioner James Gordon in the years before he meets Batman and it is not clear if the caped crusader of alter-ego Bruce Wayne will ever feature.

FOX described the show as "the origin stories of Commissioner James Gordon and the villians that made Gotham famous".

Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the Gordon character was introduced in the very first Batman comic in 1939 and has been one of the superhero's closest allies ever since.

Neil Hamilton portrayed the police chief in 1960s TV series while more recently, British actor Gary Oldman played him in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

Gotham will be executive produced and written by the man behind The Mentalist and the HBO-BBC drama Rome, Bruno Heller, and produced by Warner Bros Television.

Casting for Gotham has not yet been announced.

Alongside Superman, the Batman franchise is one of DC Comics most lucrative assets.

The Superman spin-off series, Smallville, ran for 10 seasons.

DC Comics two most famous superheroes will team up for the first time on film in the forthcoming Superman sequel to Man Of Steel.

Ben Affleck has been cast as the caped crusader alongside Henry Cavill's Superman. It is due for release in Summer 2015.

Gotham follows Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on Walt Disney Co.'s television network ABC, which premiered on Tuesday with 11.9 million viewers.

The series features human agents and is based on the world of the Avengers comics, featuring an ensemble of superheroes including Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.