'Gotham Knights' Dedicated Its Finale to Chris Dodge-Copeland
Jun. 28 2023, Published 8:24 a.m. ET
Even for our favorite television series, we don’t always know every person who goes into the show's making. When it comes to Gotham Knights, which aired its series finale on June 27, 2023, an entire host of people contributed to its creation. Between its editors and location scouts, Gotham Knights wouldn’t exist without its entire team. And one team member, Chris Dodge-Copeland, was remembered during the finale.
Television series often share an “in memoriam” for team members who have passed away. Chris Dodge-Copeland was a location manager who worked with the Gotham Knights team to bring the series to life. But what happened to him, and who was he?
What happened to Chris Dodge-Copeland? He passed away in early 2023.
On January 31, 2023, Chris Dodge-Copeland passed away at around 35 years old. It’s unclear exactly what happened, but family, friends, and colleagues quickly offered their support. Chris’s wife, Carley Copeland, shared the news in a moving Facebook post:
“It is with the heaviest sadness I have ever known that I have to announce that today the love of my life passed away,” she wrote. “We celebrated our anniversary just yesterday, and then today I had to say goodbye forever. It doesn't seem real. Chris was the absolute best father to Chloe and Cassidy, and the most amazing husband to me. I am devastated beyond words. I will let everyone know when we have a service planned. I love you forever babe. I'll never stop missing you.”
Hundreds of people offered condolences to the young mother. Her friends Amy Madrid and David Miller set up a GoFundMe to help support the Copeland family. They wrote, “Today, our friend Carley lost her best friend in the world. He was her husband, and a wonderful father to their two beautiful girls, Chloe (3) and Cassidy (9mo). To help ease the burden of this sudden and unimaginable loss, we are asking for your help.”
While we don’t know exactly how he died, we know that he was young and that his death was sudden and unexpected. On February 11, Chris’s family and friends came together to celebrate his life in a “Celebration of Life” ceremony at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. Chris was a freelance location manager in the Atlanta, Ga. area for several different projects, such as Gotham Knights, Doom Patrol, Citadel, and many more.
Ahead of the Gotham Knights finale, showrunner James Stoteraux tweeted, “Tonight's finale of #CWGothamKnights is dedicated to our location manager Chris Dodge-Copeland. He was truly a kind and generous soul, taken from us too soon. A passionate Batman fan, Chris moved mountains to create our Gotham. He'll be forever missed.”
Chris is survived by his wife, Carley, and their two daughters, Chloe and Cassidy, as well as his sister, Amy, and mother, Carol. Our condolences go out to Chris’s friends, family, and colleagues.
