Gotham's Mad Hatter Explains Just How Far He'll Go To Find His Sister

After showrunners teased his arrival for over a year, the Mad Hatter, a.k.a. Jervis Tetch, will finally make his debut on Gotham this season and be played by The Walking Dead alum Benedict Samuel.

When he arrives in Gotham, he is on a mission to find his sister, Alice, who went missing in the city years ago. "His purpose is to find his sister and I think he'll move hell and high earth to find her," Samuel told Zap2it during a set visit.

This iteration of the Mad Hatter is a talented hypnotist teetering on the edge of madness. "There are so many pieces to him," Samuel shared. "There's a child in there and there's also a psychopath."

The character, which is based on (and obsessed by) Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was created by Lew Sayre Schwartz and Bill Finger in 1948, appearing for the first time in Batman #49. With that much history behind the character, Samuel is trying not to become overwhelmed by it all. "All I need to do is focus on the work, the scenes, the moments," he says. "And less about trying to put my own imprint on this character because the character is far bigger than I am."

With Season Two's thrilling conclusion, Detectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock remain at the forefront of the fight against crime in this dangerously corrupt city. Throughout the past season, Gordon's moral compass wavered more than ever, as villains emerged from the city's darkest places. With the help of Hugo Strange (guest star BD Wong), a brilliant psychiatrist secretly conducting horrifying experiments for Wayne Enterprises' black-ops program, Indian Hill, familiar faces arose, including Azrael, formerly Theo Galavan (James Frain); Mr. Freeze (guest star Nathan Darrow); and Fish Mooney (guest star Jada Pinkett Smith). Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne, with the help of his trusted butler and mentor, Alfred Pennyworth, and his ally at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox, found out there are more secrets to uncover regarding the Waynes' murders.

Heading into Season Three, GOTHAM will continue to follow the evolving stories of the city's most malevolent villains: The Penguin; Edward Nygma/The Riddler; Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman; and Barbara Kean. GOTHAM also will dive into the origin stories of The Mad Hatter and the Tweed Brothers, and will peel back the curtain on the Court of Owls.

Season 3 of Gotham will premiere on Monday, September 19th at 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT.