Heller's father, Lukas, was a German Jewish emigre and screenwriter (Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?).

His mother, Caroline (née Carter), was an English Quaker and instrumental in keeping up the Labour Party's "Save London Transport Campaign".

After five years in the city, Heller moved with his family to Los Angeles where he worked on various television dramas including two projects for the USA Network: Touching Evil (American TV series) and The Huntress.

In September 2012, Heller sold a legal drama named The Advocates to CBS, which was written and executive produced by him,[3] but the project finally did not go to series.

[clarification needed] In 2014 Heller created a TV series based on the Batman character James Gordon called Gotham for Fox Broadcasting Company.

He abandoned his pretense out of remorse when his attention-seeking behaviour attracted the attention of a serial killer named Red John who killed his wife and daughter.

[4][5][6] As originally conceived, the series serves as a straightforward story of Jim Gordon's early days on the Gotham City Police force.

A direct prequel to both Gotham[10] and V for Vendetta,[11][12][13] the series explores Alfred's origins as a former British soldier running a private security firm (and later a bar) in an alternate history 1960s England, as he goes to work with CIA agent Thomas Wayne – Batman's father, while coming into conflict with the fascist Raven Society/Union while in the throes of a British Civil War, in the years preceding the rise of the Norsefire regime,[14] with the third season introducing predecessors to the anarchist V.[15] The show premiered on 28 July 2019, and concluded on 24 November 2022.