The upcoming Gotham PD series at HBO Max has found its new showrunner in Joe Barton, Variety has learned.
Barton takes over as executive producer and showrunner on the untitled series from Terrence Winter, whose exit was reported in November.
Barton previously created and wrote the BBC Two/Netflix drama series “Giri/Haji.” He also previously wrote the feature film “The Ritual.” Most recently he co-wrote the upcoming feature film “Invasion” starring Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer, which will be distributed by Amazon Studios. He is also set to write and executive produce the Netflix drama series “Half Bad,” based on the books by Sally Green.
He is repped by ICM, Grandview, and Independent Talent Group.
The Gotham PD show will exist in the same world as the upcoming film “The Batman” from Matt Reeves. It is said to build on the film’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City. It is part of WarnerMedia’s efforts to launch a new Batman universe across multiple platforms.
Reeves’ 6th & Idaho production company will produce in association with Warner Bros. Television. Reeves, Barton and Dylan Clark are executive producers, alongside 6th & Idaho’s Daniel Pipski and Adam Kassan. 6th & Idaho’s Rafi Crohn is a co-executive producer. The drama is based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.
The Gotham P.D. series is one of a number of DC project currently in the pipeline at HBO Max, as the streamer is leaning heavily into the DC Comics IP. Of particular note is that James Gunn is working on a series spinoff of his “Suicide Squad” film with John Cena attached to star as Peacemaker, and that J.J Abrams and his Bad Robot Productions are developing a “Justice League Dark” series for the streamer.