The reviews forThe Penguinare in, and they are positively glowing for the latest addition to Matt Reeves' Dark Knight universe that began with 2022’sThe Batman. That film also received high praise from critics, but even more surprising is that the new Max streaming series is scoring even better reviews than Reeves' film, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes.
The Penguin
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
As of this writing,The Penguinis sitting pretty with a fresh rating of 93 percent onRotten Tomatoes. That means the series has a higher Tomatometer score thanThe Batman, which registered a still-fresh 85 percent among critics with a total of 529 reviews counted.The Penguinwon’t come close to collecting that many reviews, so that has to be taken into account, but it’s still impressive nonetheless for the highly anticipated series. How the audience reacts has yet to be determined, since the show hasn’t premiered to the public just yet, butThe Batmancurrently has an 87 percent audience rating on the site.
The Penguin will Expand on the Role Colin Farrell Started in The Batman
The Penguinis a miniseries that serves as a spinoff toThe Batman, and focuses onColin Farrell’sPenguin, who had a relatively minor role in the 2022 film. Development on the show began in 2021, with Reeves wanting to expand on the character more than he could in the movie, given the film’s expansive ensemble cast and other stories that needed more attention. Lauren LeFranc was brought on board to write the series, with Reeves andThe Batmanproducer Dylan Clark serving as executive producers.
The Penguin Review: Colin Farrell Owns a Brutal Gangster Series
Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) battles for control of Gotham City’s criminal underworld after the death of Carmine Falcone.
Another spinoff series,Gotham City Police Department(GCPD), was also in development, but it wasput on hold, with the focus shifting more towardsThe Penguin, which was deeper into development. Craig Zobel, known forThe HuntandMare of Easttown, was brought in to direct the first three episodes of the series, while Helen Shaver, a TV vet whose recent credits includeStation ElevenandVikings, is directing additional episodes. It was later revealed that the show would consist of eight episodes that would premiere exclusively on the Max streaming service.
Occurring shortly after the events ofThe Batman,The Penguinwill chart Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot/The Penguin’s rise to power in Gotham City, as the death of crime boss Carmine Falcone has left an opening for someone else to lead the city’s criminal underworld. The series is also said to lead into events that set upThe Batman - Part II,as Reeves and his creative team are set to begin production on the sequel at the top of the year. In addition to Farrell, the series also stars Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Mark Strong, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Theo Rossi, and Clancy Brown.
The Penguinhits the Max streaming service on Sep. 19.
Source:Rotten Tomatoes
