‘Gotham’ gets a full season order

Good news for super villain fans, the Fox drama “Gotham” has been given a full-season order.

The network announced on Monday it had ordered an additional six episodes of the crime series set in the comic book city of Gotham. That brings the new fall series to a full first season order, the first of Fox’s new shows to get picked up for a full season.

Ben McKenzie plays Det. James Gordon in his early days on the Gotham police force, teamed with a morally questionable partner, Harvey Bullock, played by Donal Logue.

But the real attraction of the series is the chance to see the detectives battle the rogue’s gallery of villains made by famous by the Batman comics, without Batman around to fight them. Robin Lord Taylor, who plays Oswald Cobblepot in the days before he became the Penguin, has been a stand-out in the show’s first three episodes. Jada Pinkett Smith also plays the crime boss, Fish Mooney.

Series creator Bruno Heller has said that the series will never introduce Batman in costume, though Bruce Wayne and his butler/caregiver Alfred are both characters in the series.

The show debuted well, with a total audience of 8.21 million viewers for its premiere episode. It was Fox’s highest-rated fall drama debut in 14 years.

Twitter: @patrickkevinday