The Penguin season 1

When news came that were would be a spin-off to The Batman which would focus on the titular character The Penguin, I feared this would be a show trying to milk every last ounce out of the new franchise after just a single film. It felt hasty to be stretching the audience across shows if they wanted to keep up with films, or if one could get by without watching the show, then would this would be a disposable extra that had no bearing on the overall story? Time would tell...

Much as the title suggests, The Penguin focuses on Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb following the events at the end of The Batman after the crime families are sent into disarray following the death of Carmine Falcone. Gotham City is also ravaged by the severe flooding caused by the Riddler leaving much of Cobb's neighbourhood in chaos which he hopes to turn around as he plans to make a name for himself.

Told over eight episodes, the HBO show gets off to a great start in a thrilling episode which wastes little time in setting the scene, introducing Cristin Milioti's daughter to Carmine Falcone and seeing Cobb find an unusual partnership with Vic, a young kid caught trying to steal his car. The show has been dubbed as "The Sopranos but in Gotham" and this is very much a crime show about gangsters trying to do one over on the other, almost to the point where one could forget that this is all set in the same universe as Batman, which will not be to everyone's liking.

Why do a show about the Penguin if he's nothing like the comic book character, why has his name/ backstory been changed and also why isn't there a single mention of Batman? These thoughts ran through my mind and were odd admissions for the show to feel more grounded when a nice middle ground could have existed but I can't deny I still found plenty to enjoy. It's very well acted across the board, directed with precision and the production levels are all up to par with any HBO show. What's more, with the exception of some scenes with Cobb's mother, it doesn't really drag at all or waste time. 

The Penguin is the perfect show if you wanted The Sopranos in Gotham but I feel the showrunners veered a little too far away from the source material to the point where all the names and places could be changed, and you'd still have the same show when I feel that should not be the case. Nonetheless, fans of DC and The Batman will find plenty to enjoy here even if it isn't quite essential viewing for the next film in the franchise. I still enjoyed my time with this and would say it's an easy one to recommend if you're waiting to see what Matt Reeves does next for the caped crusader.