The Pitch: Gotham’s been going through a rough time lately, especially after a series of bombings flooded a good portion of the city, causing immense damage and loss of life. But Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) — who would really prefer that you not call him The Penguin — sees this as an opportunity to improve his status within Gotham’s criminal underworld, especially with his former boss Carmine Falcone no longer in the picture.
However, he’s not the only one interested in that power: Falcone’s daughter Sofia (Cristin Milioti) is freshly released from Arkham Asylum and ready to reclaim her life after years of (potentially false?) incarceration. She also wants to get involved in the family business — making Oswald, her former driver, either her new ally… or her new enemy.
Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na/ Batman! While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been launching TV spinoffs from its films for over 10 years at this point (oh, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., you were fun while you lasted), its rival from the comic book world has lagged behind. Beyond Max’s Peacemaker (a spinoff/direct sequel to The Suicide Squad), DC’s television offerings have all been largely stand-alone/part of their own universe, with The CW’s sprawling multiverse in particular dominating in the 2010s.
That’s all on the cusp of changing, with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s relaunch of the renamed “DC Studios” on the horizon. The Penguin, debuting on HBO and Max this week, was technically greenlit before Gunn and Safran entered the picture (the series was kept alive as an “Elseworlds” project, similar to how Matt Reeves’ The Batman sequel will be treated by the otherwise-interconnected DC Studios). And it’s still a reflection of the new modern era of comic book properties shifting back and forth between the big and small screens, with the same caliber of talent attached.
Thus, we get eight hours of a direct sequel to The Batman with no Robert Pattinson in it, instead featuring an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as Oswald (renamed Oswald Cobb for a more “grounded” feel). It’s a remarkable performance if only because it’s really hard to see any of Farrell peeking out from beneath the thick prosthetics and, ahem, torso padding. Yet despite that, the Oscar-nominated actor does dig hard into the humanity of his tough-as-nails gangster character, never flinching from depicting his dark past and ruthlessness.
In many respects, this iteration of The Penguin proves more than a little reminiscent of Tony Soprano: It’s not just the physique and accent work, but the affectations of decency, not to mention a very complicated relationship with his mother (played beautifully by Deirdre O’Connell). Oswald is a snappier dresser than Tony, though, and at a different stage of his mob boss journey — scrambling to claim the respect he believes he deserves, on the new playing field of a devastated Gotham.
The Penguin (HBO)
Rogues Gallery: As significant as the star power of Farrell might be (not to mention the fact that he plays the titular role), I’d like to report a robbery: Cristin Milioti steals the show out from underneath him as Sofia Falcone, alleged serial killer and confirmed mob badass.
The stage and screen actress has accumulated an incredibly diverse range of acting credits over the years, from playing the titular Mother on How I Met Your Mother to Leonardo DiCaprio’s first wife in The Wolf of Wall Street to a time loop-trapped maid of honor in Palm Springs. But getting to play this level of unhinged is something new for her, and Milioti undergoes quite the transformation over these eight episodes — not just because her haircut takes on increasing levels of Sarah Sherman-esque shag. It’s thrilling to see the dimensions she brings to Sofia, especially in a flashback episode that fully explores her descent into… less than sanity, let’s put it like that.
While Milioti, if only by sheer force of will, transforms The Penguin into a two-hander, the rest of the supporting cast is packed with talent, including Runaways star Rhenzy Feliz stepping up as Oz’s new driver/protege and the always wonderful Clancy Brown as rival mob boss Salvatore Maroni. (Shohreh Aghdashloo, confirmed badass of The Expanse and last year’s Renfield, plays his wife.) Mark Strong is also featured in flashbacks as Carmine Falcone, replacing John Turturro from the original film.
The Verdict: The Penguin features a lot of flashbacks, digging into some rich character history across these eight episodes. Yet the most effective of these flashbacks, by far, comes in Episode 3, where we get a civilian’s perspective on the devastating bombings from the climax of The Batman. It’s not an easy sequence to watch, but its power is hard to deny.
That actually reflects the defining issue of the entire series, which is truly unflinching in its depictions of brute force, and pushes certain characters to dark places far beyond what you might expect: There’s one character death in the finale which is handled with such brutality that even Tony Soprano might say, wow, that’s too much.
Ultraviolence in this genre isn’t a new concept at this point, but there’s none of the wit or glee you see in The Boys — just grim gangster dealings. Which is perhaps fair, because The Penguin is so grounded in its approach that, as mentioned, Batman himself never makes an appearance. In short, whoops, no heroes — this is a hard-R crime story, through and through. Prepare yourself accordingly.
Where to Watch: The Penguin debuts Thursday, Sept. 19th at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max. Subsequent episodes will debut Sundays at the same time.
Trailer:
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