Though I was the right age, for whatever reason I never really watched "Batman: The Animated Series". I've seen bits of it since, and can appreciate it, but for it wasn't my jam. I say this to say that I'm not here comparing this show with Bruce Timm's previous series as much as I'm understanding where it comes from but judging on its own merits.
Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) a District Attorney not adverse to cutting a few corners, is running a faltering campaign to become Mayor of Gotham City. Gotham is in the grip of organised crime, and has a serious issue with corruption in Gotham PD, though Commissioner Jim Gordon (Eric Morgan Stewart) is trying to address this. More immediately worrying to him though, are rumours of a vigilante, dressed as a giant bat, roaming the city at night.
Visually we're very much in the same animation style as "TAS" a kind of minimalist look, with detail only when necessary. The show is a noir type story - set with a 1940's aesthetic in the cars, technology and outfits. Whilst the overall story focuses on gangsters and cops, almost every episode features one character from the wider rogue's gallery, including some that never appeared on TAS, such as Onomatopoeia or Natalia Knight. There are numerous nods, or perhaps foreshadowing, depending on whether the series goes, to the various villains and heroes that may one day inhabit Gotham.
I've seen in several other reviews some people suggesting that Hamish Linklater's Batman is a little off, colder with Alfred and less capable in a fight than other incarnations. I suspect that his is intentional, to demonstrate that he's new to the role and still capable of making mistakes and that these will iron out in future episodes.
I'm not completely blown away by the series, it could do with being a little more dynamic and a little more tightly plotted to really capture my right - but it was certainly good enough that I chose to watch because I wanted to, rather than out of obligation, and I'll certainly be back for the next season.