I know what you’re all thinking: another superhero show??? But before you completely write this one off as more nerdy nonsense, I would look a little deeper into it. First, some background. The Penguin is set one week after the events of Matt Reeves’ 2022 movie The Batman, a movie I liked quite a bit. The story picks up in the aftermath of the Riddler’s attack on Gotham City in the film in which he destroyed the Gotham seawall and flooded the city, leaving underprivileged neighborhoods decimated. Mob boss Salvatore Maroni is in prison and other mob boss Carmine Falcone is dead, creating a power vacuum in Gotham’s underworld. Carmine’s son, Alberto (played by Joel Maisel, sorry I mean Michael Zegen) seems poised to take over as the head of the Falcone family. Enter The Penguin. Better known as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot. He’s been working for the Falcones for years and feels like it is finally his time to shine. Oz has what it takes to seize power, but his plans are thwarted when Sofia Falcone, Carmine’s daughter who is also a serial killer known as “The Hangman”, is released from Arkham Asylum after 10 years and has plans of her own. Is all of that background relevant? Kind of? Do you need to have watched The Batman to watch and understand this show? No. It skillfully manages to be both completely connected to the film while also standing on its own two feet. And unlike many of these franchise spin-off properties, The Penguin justifies its existence.

Matt Reeves’ The Batman was our most emo, grim, and dark version of this story to date. This tone is carried over into The Penguin. Truly the best way to describe this show is that it is Gotham City Sopranos. There are no super powers, just street-level, gritty gang wars. Dueling crime families scrapping for power. There’s even an overt homage to the iconic baptism scene from The Godfather at the end of the season. That’s why I really don’t think you need to be a Batman or comics or superhero fan to like this show. The only connection it has to that world is the names. Other than that, this is a mob show. And a pretty good one at that. The allegiances are constantly changing, keeping the audiences on their toes, and more than one moment had my jaw on the floor. The show is definitely unpredictable in the best way. The crumbling city of Gotham is the perfect backdrop for all the drama. We see it in its current state, with crookedness permeating every level. But we also see how years of volatility and corruption have shaped characters like Oz and Sofia who grew up here. Who were raised to adapt and survive. They are products of their environment. And The Penguin is particularly interested in exploring how a villain is created.

The show is called “The Penguin” but it’s really a two-hander between Oz and Sofia. They’re most often pitted against each other, but I was rooting for both of them somehow. I wanted them to combine their evil talents and work together. But we can’t always get what we want. Colin Farrell as Oz is incredible in so many ways. He is truly unrecognizable in the role. Not just under all of the heavy prosthetics, but also his voice and mannerisms and entire persona. He disappears into the role. This is something we usually praise actors for, transforming completely into someone else. In this case, though, it’s a little strange. Not to take anything away from Colin Farrell’s extraordinary work or Mike Marino’s masterful makeup, but it does beg the question, why choose to cast Colin Farrell just for him to be completely unrecognizable? There wasn’t someone who more closely resembled the image they were going for? I’m not saying this is good or bad or passing judgment in any way. I just think the choice is a little perplexing. That being said, Oz himself is a fascinating character. He has a nose for power. He knows who to suck up to, who to manipulate, and who to cross. Oz also has an uncanny ability to talk his way out of most situations. People don’t even necessarily believe all the babble he feeds them, they know his reputation and know they’re being conned, but somehow it still works in getting Oz where he wants to go. But for all his scheming and conniving, Oz still shows glimpses of the wounded child inside. All he wants, all he has ever wanted, is for his mother to be proud of him. But she, along with most people around him, seem to constantly disparage and belittle him, never recognizing his worth in any way (the mommy issues are severe). This only fuels him. Oz will do anything to get ahead. Anything. And throughout the series, we see his goals increasingly come at the cost of people closest to him. Oz Cobb is a character we know and understand. We’ve seen characters like him in entertainment before. You know he’s a bad guy but, as the protagonist of the show, you can’t help but be on his side a little (did anyone ever wish that Tony Soprano would get caught?). Until he reminds you of exactly the kind of monster he is and that, despite his past trauma, he is not someone to root for.

Where Oz has a nose for power, Sofia has a nose for bullshit. She reads everyone around her. 10 years as a prisoner in Arkham Asylum has hardened her. Deranged her, slightly. Created a thirst for vengeance. And, honestly, she has good reason. A woman in a man’s world, constantly fighting against the patriarchy, Sofia is smarter and fiercer than all of them. Episode 4, “Cent’Anni”, is a standout of the season and sees Sofia achieving peak levels of badassery. When that one ended, I was completely sold. What can I say? I love a crazy, rebellious heroine. Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia, is a badass herself. She is an absolute revelation in this show and gives a tour-de-force performance. She spends the series strutting around in elaborate and increasingly sexy costumes, being violent and unhinged, and yet gives us enough of a look inside her past and inner psyche to feel sympathetic to her. We’re both afraid of her but also want to give her a hug. I could’ve spent all of my time watching that character on screen.

Oz and Sofia had wildly different upbringings. Him coming from nothing on the wrong side of town. Her born into wealth, privilege, and status. But the common denominator in Gotham is always crime. It raised them both. Oz needed to scrap and work his way up through the ranks to make something of himself in the underworld while Sofia was part of a crime family from birth before living the life of a criminal in Arkham. Their villainy manifests differently, but it leads them both to the same place, fighting for the top spot in the center of Gotham’s main power source. The juxtaposition of these characters and their continuous clashes throughout the series is the most compelling aspect of this story.

The opposite end of the spectrum from Oz and Sofia is Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz). Oz first meets Vic, an orphaned teen displaced by the floods, when Vic attempts to steal his car. After initially intending to kill him, Oz decides to take Vic under his wing (unintentional penguin pun). The show’s creator, Lauren LeFranc, says she initially constructed Vic to be the Robin to Oz’s Batman, but instead of fighting crime, they’re committing it. On the surface, the relationship seems nice. Oz is lonely and is able to find an ally in Vic while also finally having someone who looks up to him and respects him. Vic, who lost his entire family in the Riddler’s attack, finds a father figure and a purpose working for Oz. But a closer look reveals the reality of this arrangement. Vic is pure-hearted and good but, through his association with Oz, ends up being just another casualty of Gotham’s crime syndicate. He is groomed in the ways of scheming and violence and grows increasingly more comfortable in his role as Oz’s right hand man. Meanwhile, as isolated as Oz is, he still keeps everyone at arm’s length. Including Vic. Because caring for anyone is a weakness and weakness is something Oz cannot afford. As an audience, we like seeing Oz and Vic find companionship in each other and Vic becoming more and more confident as a person. But at the same time, it doesn’t sit right. We know, for Vic’s sake, that he should get as far as he can away from Gotham before it’s too late. I won’t spoil the conclusion of this pairing, but I will say I thought it was an extremely brave decision for the show to make and one that made perfect sense while also being something I wished wouldn’t happen. 

While this season of television can and does stand alone, it’s only natural to wonder what’s next. Well… it’s hard to say at this point. The show has not (yet) been renewed for a second season though Colin Farrell has said he would be open to it and the show’s Golden Globes and Critics Choice nominations may help tip the scales. But before then, will we see any of these characters in The Batman Part II, slated to go into production early next year with a 2026 release date? Obviously that’s something no one is currently willing to answer. But the show does hand off the story nicely to the next film. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is nowhere to be seen or mentioned throughout the series save for the final shot. We see Oz looking over the city he’s taken control of and then pan to the Bat-Signal illuminated in the sky. Oz may feel like he’s finally made it, but his battle isn’t done yet. He’s now on Batman’s radar. The finale also includes a mention of Selina Kyle (Catwoman) which could be another fun connection to play with in the next film.

I really liked this show a lot more than I expected to. I was so impressed with the grounded tone they managed to capture while still having the story live in the world of superheroes. It explores the making of a criminal, a villain, a monster in the seedy business of organized crime. It’s twisted and disturbing with some dark humor and knockout performances. If you like superhero/comic book stories or if you don’t, I would recommend checking out this show.

2024 Count: 31 seasons/specials, 60 movies