Creator and showrunner Mike Roth discusses his new comedy, from DC and Warner Bros.Animation, about the routine lives and foibles of Batman, Little Batman, Alfred’s grand-niece, and a dinner table full of reformed adversaries; debuts November 10 on Prime Video.
It’s November 10, which means has debuted today on Prime Video.
From DC and Warner Bros.Animation, the half-hour animated comedy series, a follow-up to the holiday special , centers on Batman, Alfred, and young Damian Wayne - having taken on the mantle of “Little Batman” - as they welcome a set of residents to Wayne Manor.Hijinks ensue.
With soup.The show introduces a family dinner table filled with interesting new characters: Alicia Pennyworth, Alfred’s free-spirited grandniece; Claire, a recently reformed Super-Villain; Ra’s al Ghul, Damian’s adoring “Pap Pap” who also happens to be Batman’s longtime nemesis; and Man-Bat, who takes up residence in the Wayne Manor belfry.There’s also Selina, the beloved family cat.
This close-knit family of misfits navigates the fun and frustrations of ordinary life while protecting the streets of Gotham City. Enjoy the trailer: builds upon ’s illustrative 2D look, comedic tone, and family dynamic into a TV format.Showrunner and executive producer Mike Roth tells AWN that the mandate was simple: translate the movie’s design and spirit to episodic television with as little visible change as possible, then widen the world with new villains, new relationships, and day-to-day stories for Bruce and Damian Wayne.The series also introduces a set of reformed rogues now trying to rejoin society – which includes meals at Wayne Manor - alongside a few classic adversaries introduced with the show’s distinctive visual style.
The voice cast includes Luke Wilson (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Yonas Kibreab (Damian Wayne), James Cromwell (Alfred Pennyworth), Haley Tju (Claire), London Hughes (Alicia Pennyworth), Michael Benyaer (Ra’s al Ghul), and Bobby Moynihan (Man-Bat).The guest cast features Reid Scott, Kevin Michael Richardson, Diedrich Bader, and Natasha Leggero, among others.The series was developed by executive producer and showrunner Roth and executive producer Jase Ricci; Sam Register also serves as executive producer.
Roth explains the transition from feature to series in practical terms, sharing, “Moving from a movie [to] television series sometimes is a difficult climb, right? Because in the movie you get a slightly bigger budget, and you get slightly more time to really zero in on the story.So as much as we could, we really wanted to take that movie and translate it to television.Keep it as true to the movie as possible.” He adds, “That was [a] very, very important thing for us because so much of what this property is are those designs.
It’s striking to see those characters that way.” The goal, he says, was that “an average fan watching is not going to notice at all.It’s going to feel exactly like the movie.” That continuity made space for new characters to fit right into the story, with creative energy focused on new beats - Damian at school, sibling friction, Ra’s as “Pap Pap” - and for staging set-pieces that fit the show’s comedic and family-centric dynamic.“I think what’s fun is all the new characters that we bring in,” Roth notes, pointing to the team’s consistent design approach while discovering how fresh adversaries play in this world.
“Keeping that design helped keep the villains pretty hilarious looking.What do Solomon Grundy and Killer Croc look like? What does Man-Bat look like? And not just what does he look like, but what are his character and personality like? Because even though the characters are influenced by the design, it's also the other way around.” Their Man-Bat, for example, “is like this disheveled scientist that’s lived in the basement growing plants, who relocated to the belfry.” The tone of the show, Roth describes, feels both familiar and contemporary.“It is a little bit throwback and a little bit moving the ball forward,” he says.
“It feels timeless in a lot of ways, like, this could have existed in the 50s.And this also can totally exist now and hopefully, continue to entertain audiences in years to come.” Roth notes that the show is firmly rooted within Batman’s broader history and a clear visual lineage.He explains, “I feel like there are three separate pieces.
There was a ‘Bat Family’ comic way back in the 70s.So, [they’ve] always been part of the DNA of .” On the design side, “they’re very heavily influenced from Ron Searle.” When the team set the movie’s look, they wanted something that felt really illustrative, like a comic coming to life, which led to “an opening title that looks like a comic book.” “We wanted that feeling of, like, you’re paging through a comic book,” he says, adding that “Damian is heavily influenced by as well.” Episodic schedules require fast decision-making with little time for second-guessing - a rhythm Roth knows well.“As someone running [a] television show, you have to accustom yourself to making quick decisions… and standing by them,” he says, recalling his years running Cartoon Network’s shorts department and working with emerging creators.
provided him with a production template of sorts.“We had the benefit of the movie,” he acknowledges, “to help us make those quick decisions.So much of our production process was already forged.” As for what audiences will see this season, Roth cheerily points to characters and family dynamics.
“I’m very excited for people to see our new iteration of Man-Bat, and I’m really excited for people to be introduced to this iteration of Ra’s al Ghul,” he shares. “The series leans into this dynamic between Bruce and Damian and the close bond they have in a way that we’ve never seen Bruce and Damian before.We show ordinary moments beyond the holiday special, like ‘What does it look like when Damian goes to school? What does it look like when Damian’s not getting along with his big sister?’” Roth is careful not to tease plot specifics, but he does outline a roster of antagonists: Killer Croc, Solomon Grundy, Livewire, the Mad Hatter, Clayface, along with a second tier of villains “who are reforming and trying to be normal citizens.” That group includes King Tut, Copperhead, Killer Moth, Giganta.He also highlights Alicia Pennyworth, Alfred Pennyworth’s grandniece, as “a really fun, dynamic character.” He reveals she’s been very close personal friends with Bruce since they were little kids, creating a push-pull between “this free-spirited force in the house and Bruce’s very methodical, pragmatic nature.” He continues, “Alicia is also a therapist to these supervillains that are reforming and trying to roll back into society, which produces unexpected domestic scenes, Now we have these supervillains coming over to Wayne Manor for dinner.
They used to want to kill him, and now they’re coming over and sitting down for soup.”
“If you were a fan of the movie, I think you’ll be very excited to see the series because we get to see more of the world, more of the characters, and more of the Batman universe through this lens,” he says.Hoping to continue the show moving forward, he adds, “Fingers crossed.Hopefully, we get to tell more stories.”
Roth concludes, “If you were a fan of the movie, you’ll be very excited to see the series because we just get to see more of the world and more of the characters through this fresh, fun Batman lens.”
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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