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Every second ofThe Penguinshould be eye-roll-inducing. The series is, on paper at least, an exercise in pure franchise expansion. Coming two years after Matt Reeves’The Batmanhit theaters, the new HBO drama picks up almost exactly where that film leaves off. It follows Colin Farrell’s smooth-talking gangster, Oswald “Oz” Cobb, as he attempts to fill the kingpin-sized hole left in Gotham City’s criminal underworld by the murder of his longtime boss, Carmine Falcone (played inThe Batmanby John Turturro and here, in flashbacks, by Mark Strong). Its story is one that could have easily been told offscreen in the gap betweenThe Batmanand its 2026 sequel,The Batman Part II.
The Penguindid not, therefore,needto be made. The choice to go forward with it reeks — whether justifiably or not — of the very same IP-driven way of thinking that has come to dominate Hollywood decision-making. It is a testament then toThe Penguin‘s quality that it rarely provokes annoyance or frustration. Anchored by two opposing, fierce lead performances, it’s an immensely entertaining, occasionally preposterous crime drama that falls short of its influences, but still emerges as something distinct, surprisingly demented, and worthwhile. It reaches, in other words, for the heights ofThe SopranosandBoardwalk Empireand ends up landing closer to Marvel’sDaredevil.
In its opening moments,The Penguinseamlessly pulls viewers back into the world ofThe Batman. Not only does it begin with a newscast that effectively recaps the climax of that 2022 film, but it also follows Farrell’s Oz as he walks first through his now-flooded former place of business, the Iceberg Lounge, and then down to its hidden club, The 44 Below. This sequence givesThe Penguinthe chance to return to some of its parent film’s most recognizable locations and, in one instance, even reprise a memorable shot fromThe Batmanwhen The 44 Below’s elevator doors open to show Oz standing in the center of it. At times,The Penguinstruggles to truly match the immersive power ofThe Batman, but its prologue leaves no room for questions about when or where the HBO series is set.
Oz’s pilfering of his dead boss’ office is interrupted by a chance encounter with Carmine’s son and heir apparent, Alberto Falcone (played with easy sleaze by Michael Zegen). The conversation they share elegantly sets the stage forThe Penguin‘s story, as well as establishes the presence of more than a few other criminal figures who stand between him and his goal of becoming Gotham’s preeminent crime lord. His rivals include, among others, Alberto; his sister, Sofia (a sensational Cristin Milioti), who has just been released from a multiyear stay in Arkham Asylum whenThe Penguinbegins; Johnny Vitti (Michael Kelly), the slimy underboss of the Falcone family; and Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown), the gruff, imprisoned head of the Falcones’ biggest competitors. Oz quickly gets to work undermining and pitting Gotham’s crime bosses against each other, but as is the case in every mob show likeThe Penguin, not all of his moves result in the exact outcomes that he expects.
There is something that separates Oz from all of his enemies and temporary allies, though. AsThe Penguinmakes clear early on, he doesn’t come from money the same way that Alberto and Sofia do. He’s a poor kid from Gotham’s underrepresented East Side who has had to fight and scrape for every criminal promotion he’s received. This gives Oz a scrappiness that seems contradictory to his waddling, stout form and which is only betrayed by the constant squinting of Farrell’s eyes and the scars that mar the right side of his balding head. Unlike all ofThe Penguin‘s other criminals, Oz doesn’t want to rule through fear, either. As he explains in the series’ first episode, he’d rather be a gangster who is loved and treasured by his community.
The Penguinuses Oz’s desire to be loved to explore how insecurity and neediness can result in a different kind of monstrousness than we typically see in the crime genre. It does this primarily through Oz’s strained, codependent relationship with his prickly, proud mother, Francis (a fiery Deirdre O’Connell). In one of its more obvious homages toThe Sopranos,The Penguinreveals that Oz is, among other things, a mama’s boy whose lifelong search for his mother’s attention and approval turns out to be one of the key sources of his darkness. His battle with Milioti’s Sofia for control of the Falcone empire only brings that darkness closer to the surface of Oz’s purposefully harmless facade. Unfortunately for him, Sofia’s wrathful nature and bitter relationship with her now-dead father make her a particularly dangerous, unpredictable opponent.
The Penguin‘s characterization of Sofia, who takes pride in dressing in luxurious furs and fancy dresses even when she’s making violent power moves, isn’t subtle. Like all ofThe Penguin‘s characters, she’s a pulpy figure whose comic book origins are never in doubt. Despite that, Milioti manages to ground Sofia in recognizable shades of anger, betrayal, and frustration. As a performer, she also isn’t afraid to have fun or lean into the more absurd corners ofThe Penguin‘s comic book world and oversized style of storytelling. She very nearly steals the series from Farrell, who is — like he was inThe Batman— unrecognizable under his layers of prosthetic makeup and Oz’s thick, New York-inspired Italian accent. Just when it looks like Milioti might walk away withThe Penguin, though, the series’ final installments begin to delve deeper into Oz’s heart of darkness than ever before and, in turn, give Farrell the chance to sink his teeth even further into a villain who might have been rendered as little more than a caricature in a less vulnerable or more vain actor’s hands.
With the help of Farrell,The Penguincreator Lauren LeFranc and her fellow collaborators find the right line between humanizing their protagonist and making him a genuinely sympathetic figure. The series doesn’t shy away from the pitch-black emotional abyss at the center of its story, and its commitment to really showcasing the full depravity of Sofia and Oz’s rivalry is admirable. It is, in fact, the thing that makesThe Penguinleave more of a lasting mark.
Throughout its eight episodes,The Penguindoes fail to recapture the scale and visual richness ofThe Batman. Its Gotham frequently looks a whole lot like New York, rather than a striking, original creation, and the show’s aesthetic pales in comparison to what Reeves andDunecinematographer Greig Fraser achieved inThe Batman. While it lacks the cinematic power ofThe Batman, though,The Penguinis held together by a similarly cohesive vision.
This is a show made by a team of artists who were clearly on the same page from the very beginning about what they were setting out to do. The result is a comic book-adjacent crime drama that not only stands on its own, but also — likeThe Batman— offers a vision of a world that is even grimier and dirtier than it seems.
The Penguinpremieres Thursday, September 19 on HBO. New episodes release weekly on Thursdays.Digital Trends was given early access to its entire eight-episode season.
