DC Comics is in quite a weird place right now. Of the last eight films released theatrically by the studio, seven of them have underperformed either critically, financially, or both. Now, the franchise is looking down the barrel of a James Gunn-led reboot arriving in just a matter of weeks. However, out of this very strange year for DC, and comic book adaptations overall, comes The Penguin. This HBO original series is a spinoff of 2022’s The Batman, the only one of the aforementioned eight DC films to be a success. With showrunner Lauren LeFranc and executive producer Matt Reeves, The Penguin is a monumental triumph. Not only is it one of the best comic-book-inspired shows I’ve ever watched, but it’s one of the best TV series of the entire year.
The Penguin stars Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobb, reprising his antagonistic role from The Batman. Set in the aftermath of that film’s climax, the series follows Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb as he attempts to take over Gotham City’s underworld. Alongside his new partner Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), Oz must battle the remaining power players of Gotham for control of the city. Chief among them are rival mob bosses Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) and Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), the daughter of Oz’s former boss and ruthless serial killer known around Gotham as “The Hangman.” The series quickly evolves into an intense game of chess between these three players as alliances are formed, broken, and reformed according to each person’s interest and the unpredictability of Gotham City.
This maneuvering in a constant game of chess is one of my favorite parts of the series. The writing is fantastic, especially in scenes where characters must lie their way through a meeting to get what they want, while fully intending to betray their supposed ally. The status quo changes frequently throughout the series, going from Oz double-dealing with Sofia and Sal, to being their rival and running his own drug empire, to Sofia murdering her entire family and forming an alliance with Sal. This aspect of the series captures how fast things can change, as well as how fragile the status quo of the underworld is. In a way, it feels almost like DC’s version of Game of Thrones: tight political maneuvering peppered with explosive action sequences.
It’s in these moments that Oz Cobb really gets to shine; I truly can’t say enough about Colin Farrell’s performance. In The Batman, he disappeared so completely into the role that I couldn’t even recognize him, and he’s even better in this show. I love moments where Oz explains his backstory, because you can never tell what’s true and what’s false. His evolution throughout the show is also masterfully written, as he slowly becomes the big-time mob boss we recognize from the comics. More than that, I can’t get enough of how villainous he is. Despite him being the protagonist and having sympathetic motivations relating to his mother, the show always reminds us how monstrous of a person he is.
Even with all the amazing aspects of Oz, the character who truly makes this show a masterpiece is Sofia Falcone. Cristin Milioti deserves to win an Emmy for her portrayal of Sofia, as she perfectly captures Sofia’s trauma and insanity in every minute expression that flashes across her face. The best episode of the series is the one that goes into Sofia’s backstory, where we get to watch her go from a relatively good person to a tortured psychopath, framed by her father to cover up his own crimes. It’s almost like Milioti is playing two different characters at the beginning and end of the episode, and we have to watch Sofia slowly and painfully become this darker version of herself. In the same way the show never lets you forget Oz is a monster, it also never lets you forget Sophia inherently is not. She’s a normal person broken by the world and driven to acts of vengeance because of her shattered psyche. Every turn she makes in this show is so tragic and so brilliantly executed. The series might be called The Penguin, but Sofia is just as much of a main character in this story as Oz is.
Beyond what I’ve talked about so far, there’s so much else that makes this series as good as it is. The supporting cast is all fantastic, with no obvious weak links among the actors. The cinematography is top-notch, though slightly lower quality than The Batman. Finally, Mick Giacchino’s score serves as the absolute cherry on top and perfectly conveys the tense atmosphere of the Gotham underworld. Overall, The Penguin was an absolutely fantastic show, and I can’t wait to see where future installments in The Batman universe will take these characters. For anyone who likes superhero media or just loves a quality TV show, I would urge you to give The Penguin a watch.
