Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Crime, Drama, Superhero
Release date: Sept 19, 2024

Overall Score

Rating Overview

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Visuals/Cinematography

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Non-Wokeness

Rating Summary

It hasn't reinvented the wheel, but The Penguin is one of the best things to hit your TV in months. Colin Farrell and his fellow core casemates elevate senior journeyman work with award-winning performances filled with nuance and menace, giving us an enjoyable and exciting ride.

The Penguin follows Oswald “Oz” Cobb, aka the Penguin, as he rises to power in Gotham City’s criminal underworld. Set one week after the events of The Batman (2022), the series explores Oz’s quest to fill the power vacuum left by Carmine Falcone’s death. As Oz navigates the treacherous landscape of Gotham’s crime scene, he faces challenges from rivals old and new, all while trying to give his mother the life he’s always promised.

The Penguin (S1:1) Review

Despite somewhat mixed reviews, the one thing that most who watched 2022’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, agree on is that Colin Farrell’s transformation from svelte Irish leading man to the twisted and bloated Oswald Cobb (aka The Penguin) was a cinematic achievement worthy of praise. Thanks to some incredibly talented makeup artists combined with Farrell’s well-established talent, audiences were treated to a transcendent performance that both parties have seamlessly transitioned to the small screen.

The story itself is fairly standard gangster fare with Cobb, a mid-level operator in the largest and most powerful crime family in Gotham, scheming his way to what he hopes will be the top. However, thanks not only to Farrell but also to a strong supporting cast, as well as a crisp directorial style and well-balanced dialogue that allows for both humor and terror, The Penguin rises above its rather clichéd premise.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the amount of heart had by an episode filled with hookers, drug dealers, and brutal murder. Much of that is thanks to the vulnerability brought to the table by the relative unknown Rhenzy Feliz, who plays Cobb’s protogé, Victor Aguilar. Between Farrell’s undeniable charisma (and surprisingly adroit comedic timing) and Feliz’s soft charm, the two exhibit an instant chemistry that carries much of the episode and likely the series.

Not to be undone is Cristin Milloti, who plays the daughter and heir to Don Carmine Falcone, Sofia. Milloti should teach actresses lessons in intimidation because, unlike so many of her contemporaries, rather than doing a bad impersonation of a man, this pretty and soft-looking 110-lb actress has tapped into the marrow of every man’s worst fear: a bat$h!t crazy woman who doesn’t know how nuts she is and has the power to do more than break your vinyl collection and key your car. The subtlety that she exhibits while her character balances between asylum-crazy, vulnerable, and sad, and mob boss chic is Swiss clockwork fine, and such a joy to watch that it almost overcomes the fact that this is yet another show that pits a newly invented strong, independent female against a legacy male character known for being at the top. Time will tell if both her restraint and that of the writers will prevail.

Overall, the first episode of The Penguin is a delightful surprise, especially considering some of the other streaming programs currently available. It’s a fine way to spend an hour of your evening, and happily Worth it.