‘Gotham’ Star Confirms Season 5 Will Only Be 10 Episodes

Gotham is coming back for a fifth and final season on FOX next year, but it isn’t going to be the typical season length that fans have come to expect.

When the initial announcement of a renewal came through earlier this spring, it was noted that the final season of FOX’s Batman prequel series would be a shortened order, and wouldn’t premiere until the midseason. Many took this to mean that it would be the standard, 13-episode half-season. However, it looks as though Gotham‘s fifth installment will be even shorter than that, as series star Camren Bicondova has confirmed that it will only consist of 10 episodes.

While answering fan questions on her Instagram live stream, Bicondova was immediately asked about Gotham Season Five.

“Gotham Season Five is happening,” Bicondova confirmed. “We were picked up for 10 episodes, and I believe it will be airing in the U.S. January 2019.”

There had been rumors floating around online that the season would only be 10 episodes in length, but this is the first time anyone on the cast or crew has mentioned the specific episode order.

The one head-scratching element of a 10-episode order is the issue of syndication. Part of FOX’s drive to order a final season of Gotham was to get the series over the syndication threshold, which is typically 100 episodes. If Season Five is only 10 episodes, the overall total of the series tops out at just 98, two short of 100. One work-around for this issue could be a double-sized season premiere and finale. If each of those episodes is two hours in length, it could be split up as two different episodes on the final tally, bringing the total to 100 even.

ComicBook.com reached out to FOX for further confirmation, and we’ll update the story when we learn more.

Do you think 10 episodes is enough to wrap up Gotham‘s story? Were you hoping the final season would be closer to 13 or 16? Let us know your thoughts by dropping a line in the comments below!