10 TV Characters Killed In Desperate Attempts To Boost Ratings
4. Jerome Valeska - Gotham
When Gotham first hit screens in 2014, the one character Batman fans were waiting to see was the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker. Because of legal reasons, the show couldn't actually create a character and name them 'Joker' however, which led to the creation of the Valeska Twins, Jerome and Jeremiah.
Both of these characters turned into some seriously creepy villains for Bruce, Gordon and co. to deal with and both take some inspiration from classic Joker tropes of old. Jerome had his turn in the spotlight first and, whilst his portrayal as a Joker-wannabe was generally pretty well received, it didn't stop the show from slowly starting to slump in the ratings.
Luckily, the show had a twin on hand and could afford to kill off Jerome as a sort of freebie.
Jerome Valeska bows out in the episode eighteen of season four and whilst the episode and series got some favourable reviews upon release, the show continued its downward trend of critical reception and viewership figures. Eventually, these continually declining viewership numbers led to Fox declaring that the following season would be the final for the show.