“The Penguin” is an eight-episode crime drama miniseries on HBO that follows Oswald “Oz” Cobb as he rises to power in Gotham City after the events of 2022’s “The Batman.” The series stars Oscar-nominee Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Tony-nominee Cristin Miloti (“Once”), Rhenzy Feliz (“Encanto”), Tony-winner Deirdre O’Connell (“Dana H.”) and prolific character actor Clancy Brown (“The Shawshank Redemption”).
While I adore “The Batman” — and still maintain that it is the best live-action Batman movie to date — I was not entirely sure what to expect when it was announced that Farrell’s supporting role in the film would be given his own TV series. Thankfully, creator and showrunner Lauren LeFranc (YouTube Premium’s “Impulse”) crafted an excellently written and performed gangster drama that works to enhance the universe of “The Batman.”
The best element of this series is easily its cast, with almost the entire ensemble delivering great performances. Farrell in particular has become one of my favorite actors in the industry, partially due to how well he’s able to transform into whatever role he chooses. While extensive prosthetics and makeup make him quite literally unrecognizable, his acting and accent make him disappear even further into the role.
Miloti also delivers an excellent, Emmy-worthy performance as antagonist Sofia Falcone, the daughter of deceased mobster Carmine Falcone. While she is the antagonist, she has a certain level of depth that makes her one of the most sympathetic characters in the series, and Miloti’s performance gives Sofia all the nuance that you could ask for while also allowing her to go a little batty (I’m sorry, I needed at least one bat pun).
The heart of the show, however, is Feliz, who plays a teenager named Victor. We initially meet him in the first episode as he is almost killed by Oz, but he eventually becomes his driver and enforcer. While his performance isn’t exactly on the same level as the rest of the cast, Feliz makes the character immediately likable and easy to root for. Despite the fact that he’s engaging in incredibly shady behavior, Victor is truly the light in this very dark crime drama.
The rest of the cast is also about as great as can be expected. Brown in particular is an iconic actor, and his performance as rival gangster Salvatore Maroni is yet another great entry in the actor’s impressive resume; it’s genuinely bizarre to realize that this is the same actor who played both a sadistic prison guard in “The Shawshank Redemption” and currently voices Mr. Krabs in “SpongeBob SquarePants.” O’Connell also does an excellent job as Oz’s mother, who suffers from Parkinson’s and Lewy Body dementia. I never got the feeling that her performance was mocking either of these conditions, and she adds to the tragedy of the character.
Another main element of the show that deserves a lot of praise is the writing. LeFranc and the rest of the writers did an excellent job of bringing Gotham City to life, making it feel like a natural extension of what audiences saw in “The Batman” while being its own separate entity. While “The Batman” felt like an homage to films like “Se7en,” “Zodiac” and “Chinatown,” “The Penguin” is more of a straightforward gangster series in the vein of peak-HBO shows “The Sopranos” and “Boardwalk Empire.” The show feels so grounded to the point where I completely forgot what I was watching until a character mentioned either the Batman, the Riddler or Gotham City — and while this is admittedly a strange feeling, it’s also one that I fully embrace. Granted, the events of “The Batman” play a significant role in this show’s events, but it still feels like an excellent standalone series to watch.
The writers also nailed this show’s dark tone and nuanced characters. There are many moments where I was genuinely shocked at the places that “The Penguin” — and the Penguin himself — were willing to go. This show is quite violent and dark, taking full advantage of its TV-MA rating without feeling gratuitous. On the flip side, the characters all feel like real and deeply flawed individuals. There are moments where they will make the audience mad, including yours truly, but these decisions are very clearly done out of an understanding of the characters.
When it comes to issues that I have with “The Penguin,” I would have to say that there are a few moments of cheese that feel just a little bit out of place in such a dark series. Granted, there is a dark sense of humor throughout, mainly due to Oz, but still. I also wish that the musical score was just a bit better. Composer Mick Giacchino, son of “The Batman” composer Michael Giacchino, did a solid job, but maybe I just wish that his father was involved instead.
All in all, “The Penguin” is an excellent entry in “The Batman” universe, alongside the 2022 film and Paul Dano’s possibly canonical comic book miniseries “The Riddler: Year One.” Farrell and Miloti’s performances and LaVera’s writing team made this show more than just another unnecessary comic book spinoff, instead making it feel like a very necessary prelude to the upcoming “The Batman – Part II.”
RATING: 8.4/10
