HBO’s The Penguin’s premiere episodes p-p-p-pick up accolades…

In the wake of recent events, with the city being flooded and the death of crime kingpin Carmine Falconi, Gotham City’s ne’er-do-wells and would-be leaders of the underworld are jostling for power, seeing who will get the wealth and influence of the late Falcone. Oswald Cobb has always had an ambitious nature, knowing what to do (and not to do) to hold on to his middle-management power and survive the regular machinations of the city’s kingpin.

Now, he realises, there are new opportunities and new dangers and he must find a way to reach beyond the limitations of his own body to persuade those around him that he’s the best man for the job. Some are aware of his plans; some are oblivious and few trust him as far as they could throw a flightless bird.

But Oswald has plans – he will use events and people to his advantage and if they won’t help him or get out of his way… then he’ll find a way to move them… by fair means or fowl.

*spoilers for first two episodes*

The symbiotic relationship between film and television continues with the modern trend of having television shows fill the gaps between feature films set in the same continuity or ‘universe’. But while some past efforts have felt reliant on that connection (and sometimes little more than promotional tie-ins and marketing opportunities) some of the best have worked because they stand on their own merits – as good, in their own way, as the original material.

Without doubt, HBO Max‘s The Penguin is an example of a show that’s confident enough in itself to succeed on its own merits, sharing some foundational pillars but establishing its own real estate.

The production values (including those from Lovecraft Country‘s Kalina Ivanov as Production Designer) are there for all to see, creating a believable world, viewed through a lens, darkly. The touchstones are all here… a troubled city with opportunistic and dangerous criminals fighting for power and there are – if you look carefully – some Easter eggs to homage the past: both Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito are partially name-checked in forlorn storefront signs. The show, like its main character, is an askew take on the classic gangster genre, not quite as overtly vivid or over-the-top as some of Gotham’s other incarnations over the years – the city has always been a superb supporting character to the mythology). It is very much a gritty, stylistic companion piece and an extension of Matt Reeves’ recent success The Batman and part of a modern trend for street-level angst and power plays. Directed by Craig Zobel, it shifts the spotlight from caped crusaders to uneasy underworld machinations, with Farrell reprising the role of the Penguin glimpse din the feature film, but the essential ‘Gotham meets The Godfather‘ mandate works well.

There’s every reason to think that Colin Farrell, returning to the role after appearing as Oswald in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, will be raking in nominations. Buried though he may be under authentic-looking prosthetics, he still essays a wonderfully complex, mercurial performance that is simultaneously cunning, shambolic, an emotionally and physically-crippled man whose sheer determination for power keeps his momentum going. Physically Farrell looks more like a twisted Richard Kind (most recently in Only Murders in the Building) and sounds like an about-to-boil Robert De Niro, but somehow he also makes it his own, clearly relishing the ‘disguise’ and the freedom it grants him. It would be tempting to give a ‘more-is-more’ performance, but apart from a few moments of vengeful spittle and scenes of violence, Farrell is often deliciously restrained, his eyes dancing like broken windows to a fractured soul and his body-language and gait underplays his strength and danger. Bluntly, it’s the kind of challenge and role that actors dream of andto which great actors rise.

While Farrell will get a lot of the kudos, there’s plenty of praise to go around. Cristin Milioti (Black Mirror, How I Met your Mother) gives a different but equally dangerous vibe with her Sofia Falcone, a vengeful daughter freshly out of Arkham Asylum for her own crimes and whose apparent fragility does nothing to dilute her influence with a determination to make sure she’s not robbed of her birthright. She has Oswald’s number from the start but the premiere episode introduces a battle of wits and canny strategising, so that neither quite have the power to usurp the other. Rhenzy Feliz, slowly making his name over the last decade, delivers a teen petty thief called Victor Aguuilar, whose fate is intertwined with Oswald’s when the former tries to steal the latter’s car. It seems likely Oswald will kill him as ruthlessly as he has others, but he decides to spare the teen, at least for the moment, recognising in him the desire to better himself, by fair means or foul (fowl?). That uneven relationship – indeed, all the uneven relationships – continue into the second episode (already seeing an upswing on the impressive numbers of the premiere) with more ironic tap-dancing and sleights-of-hand from Oz as you’d expect, generating some very near-misses (and nice misdirection).

It’s been said that Robert Pattinson’s proto-Dark Knight will not be making an appearance (though the series will set the scene for the big-screen sequel due in late 2026), but on the basis of the premiere, it doesn’t need a caped crusader to succeed. We’ll see how the story progresses over the coming episodes and whether it can sustain its momentum, but in an era where it’s sometimes easier to come up with the concept of a good show rather than actually plan and produce one that lives up to it, The Penguin is the latest quality must-see drama for discerning viewers, firing on all cylinders and in all departments and feeling remarkably grounded – in a good/fellas way.

A penguin may be a flightless bird, but this is a series – light (or dark) years away from the days of Adam West’s tenure of pantomime threats, replacing them with a gallery of grotesques and is clearly set to soar. With an enviable soundtrack of originals and cover-versions to balance its blend of old and new visuals – and as the end-credits roll at the end of the first episode – the chances are that you’ll never listen to one of Dolly Parton’s signature tunes in quite the same way again.