'Gotham' EP Discusses Jerome's Upcoming Story Arc

Sure, Gotham villains like Professor Pyg and Scarecrow have been nothing short of awesome, but [...]

Sure, Gotham villains like Professor Pyg and Scarecrow have been nothing short of awesome, but fans have been anxiously awaiting the return of the show's resident maniac, Jerome.

Played by Cameron Monaghan, and influenced by Batman's arch-nemesis The Joker, Jerome has been a favorite villain among fans of the show. In the second half of this season, he's finally returning for a new arc on the series, and he's teaming up with an unlikely ally; The Penguin.

That chaotic pairing will be entertaining to say the least, and we wanted to know a little more about what to expect from the two characters once they finally cross paths. So, we caught up with Gotham co-executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt to see what he could tell us about Jerome's return later this season. Spoiler alert: It doesn't sound like we'll be disappointed.

"I was watching the dailies and I was watching just some of the cuts and whatever and what you instantly get with Cameron [Monaghan] is this bolt of electricity," Wynbrandt said. "It can power the DeLorean and send you back in time. That's the level of energy this guy brings to the show. He's electric. He brings something, a gravitas to the show that just ups it and so the real balance with him is he is that flavor, that sweet that you have to make sure that you don't get it to a place where people are so used to it where you don't really appreciate it anymore.

"So the balance with him is how do we make him continually cool and continually something that brings that energy, that newness in where we don't get complacent or feel like his character just sort of starts to become just another one of the core. His entrance into the show always signifies something big happening and so you just have to be careful with that character. That you don't overplay his hand in the show but all that being said, he has been phenomenal. We have an awesome story for him. You're going to love it and the fans are going to love it and it really goes to a really interesting place and has ripple effects not just in this season but hopefully, knock on wood, next season as well."

The last time Jerome was on Gotham, his story found its roots in the beloved graphic novel, The Killing Joke. This time around though, the story is much more of an original tale, so fans will be kept guessing the entire time he is on-screen.

"This is really something that just we as a room cooked up and it's a really unique and an original kind of take on a story line for him," Wynbrandt explained.

"We feel like, where The Killing Joke was so obviously and intentionally a touchstone in the last run, there is nothing of that kind of ilk for this. Now, there's always things that will make you go, 'Oh it's a little bit like this or it's a little bit I see the inspiration there. I see the inspiration here.' But this is a very original kind of take on this story and we're really excited about it because his reintroduction into the Gotham world is going to have him crossing with characters we've not yet seen him with. Which is really kind of a theme we've been playing with this whole season and something we challenged ourselves over designing this season."

Cameron Monaghan is currently filming new Gotham episodes as Jerome, and they're expected to air sometime in the second half of the season.

Gotham airs on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

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