Where to stream The Penguin as Batman spin-off arrives
Venture into Gotham’s underworld with its slipperiest villain
Matt Reeves’ The Batman introduced us to a new Gotham City with a new take on its twisted characters — one of which, Colin Farrell’s the Penguin, is getting his very own show on Sky and NOW.
Farrell’s heavily made-up portrayal of Gotham City crime boss Oswald Cobblepot, better known as Bat baddie the Penguin, was one of the most memorable elements of Reeves’ dark and brooding take on DC’s Dark Knight.
While he only played a small role in a larger tale revolving around Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader and Paul Dano’s The Riddler, we’ll soon get to explore his life and crimes in a more expanded way on the small screen.
Read more: Every upcoming DC film and series
Shortly after The Batman’s 2022 release, it was revealed that Farrell would be returning to the make-up chair to play Cobblepot in an eight-part limited series. But what will the show entail? Here’s everything we know so far…
Where can I watch The Penguin?
The Penguin, which will span eight episodes, will air in the UK from Friday, 20 September on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW. New episodes will be available weekly.
Filming for The Penguin got underway in New York City in March 2023 and wrapped in February 2024. Production was halted between June and November 2023 due to the Hollywood strikes. While Reeves is executive producing the show, he is not confirmed to direct any of the series’ eight episodes — but The Leftovers helmer Craig Zobel has signed on to direct three instalments.
What are critics saying about The Penguin?
The first batch of reviews for The Penguin have waddled in and it looks like Farrell’s extended stay in Gotham has been a bit of a mixed bag.
Many write-ups have compared it to OG gangster drama The Sopranos, with The Independent saying it feels like a mash-up of a few nail-biting shows. “It’s a set-up that walks in the footsteps of televisual classics such as The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, naturally, but also evokes Succession,” explains their review. Adding: “That’s an awful lot of prestige to shove into the Batman universe.”
The Hollywood Reporter suggested comparisons to Tony Soprano weren’t exactly a great thing, saying: “Offer me a Penguin who’s a husky, underappreciated mobster with insecurity fueled by an unhealthy attachment to a mother who coddles him with one hand and emasculates him with another, and my first reaction will be, ‘Yes, I’ve seen The Sopranos before’.”
Meanwhile, Digital Spy had more fun with these links, reasoning that “embracing the Sopranos style makes sense, both thematically and statistically: it regularly tops the list of HBO’s most-watched shows, even now, 17 years after the finale.” However, Entertainment Weekly pointed out that the reason why The Sopranos worked so well was thanks to its well-sketched characters — and as their review says, “Farrell’s Oz, by contrast, is a cartoon.”
Read full reviews below:
The Independent: Colin Farrell Batman spin-off channels The Sopranos to mixed results (4-min read)
The Hollywood Reporter: Cristin Milioti Steals HBO’s Too-Familiar ‘The Batman’ Spinoff Right Out From Under Colin Farrell’s Beak (8-min read)
Digital Spy: The Penguin is the spiritual Sopranos sequel we didn't know we needed (3-min read)
Entertainment Weekly: The Penguin doesn't need Batman but could use less family drama (5-min read)
Is there a trailer for The Penguin?
Yes. Sky teaser a trailer for The Penguin in May 2024 when it was confirmed to be the home of the upcoming supervillain series. Farrell is once again lost under mounds of make-up as Oswald Cobblepot — AKA Oz Cobb — a criminal who shares his aspirations for greatness in this short clip.
Watch it below.
It was followed by a full length-trailer that delves deeper into the Gotham underworld and teases the roles of several other characters, including Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone.
Watch the clip for yourself below.
Is The Penguin part of the new DCU?
Good question. After Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn was revealed to be the new story-steerer for the DC cinematic universe moving forward, many people wondered what that meant for the future of Gotham’s protector in the shadows.
While spilling about his future plans for the DC Universe, Gunn revealed that he will indeed be retooling the Batman character in a yet-to-be-cast project that takes its cues from Grant Morrison’s popular comic book run, The Brave and the Bold.
That means that Pattinson’s Batman — and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, for that matter — will still exist but in a separate creative timeline from Gunn’s future DC plans. These stand-alone projects will fall under a category known as DC Elseworlds. It is here where Reeves and Farrell will continue to explore the Penguin’s shady dealings in Gotham’s underworld.
What will happen in The Penguin?
According to the show’s official logline details, The Penguin will explore the character’s rise to power in Gotham’s criminal underworld. Much like the Penguin’s nemesis, firm plot details for this new series are still very much in the shadows.
However, the show’s star has spoken briefly about what we can expect, revealing that The Penguin takes place just weeks after the climactic events of Reeves’ movie and finds Gotham city largely submerged under water after the Riddler achieved his goal at the end of The Batman.
Read more: Everything we know about Joker 2
“I read the first script for the first episode, and it opens up with my feet splashing through the water in Falcone’s office,” teased Farrell during a recent interview. “Even just that alone, I read it, I was like, ‘Oh, jeez.’ It’s lovely. It’s so well-written.”
Meanwhile, Reeves has suggested that the series will lean into Cobblepot’s quest for control as he “grabs violently for power in Gotham.”
Who is starring in The Penguin?
It’ll come as no surprise that Farrell will be at the centre of The Penguin, once again donning a hefty amount of prosthetic makeup in order to transform himself into Gotham’s slipperiest villain.
Joining Farrell is Palm Springs star Cristin Milioti who will play Sofia Falcone, daughter of criminal boss Carmine Falcone who was played by John Turturro in Reeves’ movie.
The Shawshank Redemption star Clancy Brown has also joined the series as rival crime kingpin Salvatore Maroni. Comic fans will of course recognise this name as the person responsible for chucking acid in Harvey Dent’s face and creating Two-Face. Could this coin-loving bad guy be making an appearance? Only time will tell.
Other actors confirmed to appear in The Penguin include Deirdre O’Connell, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Michael Kelly, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Zegen, James Madio, and Scott Cohen.
The Penguin will be available exclusively on Sky Atlantic and NOW from Friday, 20 September