The Penguin (2024)

Colin Farrell is back under heavy prosthetics to play Oswald Cobblepot, Gotham gangster from 2022's The Batman. The first episode picks up 1 week after that film, where Gotham is recovering from the Riddler's flooding and crime families are re-organizing.

Oswald isn't a top-dog here. He's a hot-head and he makes mistakes. He wants respect and he's ready to take it. He plays it really well, keeping you rooting for him even when he's clearly an asshole. We'll see if he retains that Tony Soprano-like quality as the series plays out.

Fortunately, this wont be some dumb superhero garbage. This is a grounded crime story, and producers assure us that Batman wont even be in it. Weird move, but I think it'll work, given the show's R-rated tone. Who needs Batman around to ruin the fun? Penguin isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and that's what we all want here, right? The bad guys are always more interesting than the heroes.

Promising start. I'll keep watching...