Finally filling its mandated requirement for all nerd-friendly TV shows to employ at least one Joss Whedon alum, Gotham has added Firefly’s Morena Baccarin to its talent roster. Baccarin, who’s also had prominent roles in recent years on V and Homeland, will play Batman mythology mainstay Dr. Leslie Thompkins. In the comics, Thompkins is an old friend of Thomas and Martha Wayne who reluctantly finds herself abetting their son’s vigilante schemes, patching up Bruce Wayne when his crime-fighting injuries become too severe.
In Gotham, Thompkins will appear as a medical practitioner at the newly opened Arkham Asylum. She’s set to recur during the first season, and become a regular cast member for the second. There are also hints that the character will be involved with romantic entanglements and proto-supervillain violence, with Deadline noting that “she finds herself drawn close to James Gordon and into more and more dangerous waters.”
So far, the show has resisted its equal obligation to cast someone from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, but we’ll let you know as soon as Tahmoh Penikett gets the call.