---
title: "The Penguin"
year: 2024
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-penguin"
fi1m_score: 78
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 14
published: "2026-09-17T16:48:04.809339+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-17T16:48:05.123138+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Penguin (2024)

Created by Lauren LeFranc · MPA TV-MA · Drama, Crime

**Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 71 from 14 reviews

*In a sentence:* Colin Farrell spends eight episodes demanding respect, while Cristin Milioti gets ours rather more quickly

> Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti make *The Penguin* worth the patience its familiar gangland plotting demands. It is a good crime series, though a slow opening and overlong flashbacks keep interrupting the pleasure of watching its leads.

## Synopsis

In Gotham’s criminal underworld, Oz ‘The Penguin’ Cobb (Colin Farrell) wants power and the respect he believes should come with it. He faces the competing interests of the city’s crime families, with Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) a force in that struggle. Around Oz are Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) and Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell), as his ambition pushes him further into the contest. His resentment feeds the pursuit: he wants to improve his standing in a city where corruption and violence give its criminals room to advance.

## Review

*The Penguin* is a good crime drama with a familiar problem: its central performances are more interesting than some of the manoeuvring around them. Creator Lauren LeFranc gives Oz ‘The Penguin’ Cobb an ugly hunger for respect, then allows that hunger to drive the struggle for power. Across eight episodes, the series has enough time to make him complicated and enough spare time to repeat itself. Its strongest reason for existing is the uneasy pleasure of watching Colin Farrell try to make this man sound reasonable.

The prosthetics could have turned the performance into a demonstration of how thoroughly an actor can disappear, which is an achievement with a limited dramatic use. Colin Farrell makes the face worth watching because Oz is always trying to improve the account others have of him. We laughed at his efforts to make a desire for power sound like a request for fair treatment. The comedy comes from the self-pity, and the performance keeps enough menace underneath it to make our laughter uncomfortable.

Cristin Milioti gives Sofia Falcone a sharper hold on our attention, particularly when the mob plotting threatens to become a list of competing interests. Her presence makes the danger feel immediate again, and she handles the heightened material without looking embarrassed by it. The series improves when Sofia has more room, partly because Cristin Milioti makes her calculations feel personal. We do not need another explanation of the criminal hierarchy when she is there to show what living inside it costs.

The cinematography by Darran Tiernan and Jonathan Freeman makes Gotham look grubby enough for this criminal business. Kalina Ivanov’s production design gives that ugliness a lived-in feel, rather than making the city a backdrop for people to pose against. The persistent gloom does become wearing, especially when an ordinary conversation seems burdened with more significance than it deserves. Mick Giacchino’s music is effective at sustaining unease, although it sometimes presses a threat the performances have already made clear.

The pacing is the substantial reservation. Editors Meg Reticker, Henk van Eeghen and Andy Keir keep the plot’s turns legible, but cannot disguise how slowly the opening stretch moves. The flashbacks too often delay a story that has just become interesting. Explanations of how someone became damaged can be helpful, but here they sometimes repeat what the actors have already made clear. Lauren LeFranc and the writing team are better at the immediate contest between people than at making every piece of background feel necessary.

The crime-series conventions are familiar enough that regular viewers will seldom feel lost, though that is not always a virtue. What makes the programme worth staying with is its attention to Oz’s resentment, and to how readily a wish to be respected can become a justification for almost anything. The brutal violence stops his complaints from becoming entirely cosy entertainment. Try it for the two leads, provided another climb through a criminal hierarchy still sounds like a good use of several evenings.

*Fi1m score 78, published 17 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics welcome The Penguin as a grounded crime drama with enough character depth to work beyond its Batman connections. Praise centres on Colin Farrell’s ambitious, resentful Oz Cobb and Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone, with both performances winning approval even in less enthusiastic reviews. The favourable notices find the struggle for power compelling and the storytelling confident, often treating the resemblance to The Sopranos as a strength.

The spread is wide, however, and those same mob-drama influences strike some critics as overfamiliar. Reservations cluster around sluggish early episodes, lengthy flashbacks and supervillain elements that interrupt the psychological drama. The Telegraph finds that strong acting cannot rescue the dreary pacing or justify the assumed interest in Oz’s origins. Den of Geek’s assessment is limited to the pilot, but also questions Oz’s appeal as a lead while finding more promise in Sofia and the mob intrigue.

### Reviews we read (14)

- **Evening Standard**, Martin Robinson (5/5): The critic calls it a five-star series that mafia fans will adore, praising Farrell's world-beating performance as elevating the mob drama to Shakespearean territory with grit and charisma between Tony Soprano and Vito Corleone. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/colin-farrell-the-penguin-review-batman-b1181219.html)
- **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the series slick and fast-paced, a powerful Batman spinoff that feels like a YA Sopranos. They single out Colin Farrell's revelatory performance as the Penguin for praise, noting the twisty plot and emotional depth. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/20/the-penguin-review-colin-farrell-deserves-all-the-awards-for-this-powerful-batman-spinoff)
- **Variety**, Aramide Tinubu (90/100, inferred): HBO's series is a masterful, twisted examination of criminality focused on Oz Cobb's rise, with mesmerizing performances that make it deeply enthralling beyond its Batman roots. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/tv/reviews/the-penguin-review-1236133718/)
- **Vulture**, Kathryn VanArendonk (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the series as succeeding on its own terms without Batman, thanks to strong performances by Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti that blend pulpy and plausible elements. The show is highlighted for its deep character understanding and confident storytelling in a grounded crime-drama style. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-penguin-hbo-series-review.html)
- **Empire**, Amon Warmann (70/100, inferred): The series offers a satisfying character study of Oswald Cobb's drive for respect and power in Gotham's underworld, with strong performances from Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti elevating the grounded crime drama. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/the-penguin/)
- **Radio Times**, Louise Griffin (3/5): The Penguin takes too long to get going with a dull opening stretch, but the second half improves dramatically with explosive episodes and strong work from Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/the-penguin-review-batman-spin-off/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (60/100, inferred): The series feels too familiar as a Batman spinoff but succeeds through Cristin Milioti's standout performance and the effective makeup effects on Colin Farrell's Penguin in a Sopranos-like crime story. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/the-penguin-review-batman-spinoff-colin-farrell-cristin-milioti-1235998551/)
- **The Independent**, Nick Hilton (50/100, inferred): The critic sees mixed results as the series channels The Sopranos but buries psychological depth under supervillain elements and Godfather riffs. They praise the grittier vision of Gotham but question hiding Farrell under prosthetics. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-penguin-colin-farrell-sky-b2611695.html)
- **The Telegraph** (40/100, inferred): The critic notes strong performances from Farrell and Cristin Milioti and a grubby Gotham, but finds the dreary drama drags with slow momentum and assumes too much investment in the character's origins. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/09/12/the-penguin-hbo-sky-atlantic-colin-farrell-batman-review/)
- **Consequence** (B+): The series continues The Batman's story with a hard-R crime drama edge full of flashbacks and brutal violence, centering on Oz's rise amid Gotham's power struggles. Farrell channels a Sopranos-like intensity in a compelling but unflinching character study. [Read](https://consequence.net/2024/09/the-penguin-review-colin-farrell-batman/)
- **Digital Spy**, Laurence Mozafari (4/5): The series is called a spiritual Sopranos sequel with compelling performances, especially from Farrell, Milioti, and others, and strong storytelling that adds depth to the Batman universe. Some episodes dip into dull mob politics or less gritty Arkham scenes, preventing it from reaching full greatness. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a62169426/the-penguin-hbo-review-batman-spin-off/)
- **NME**, Jordan Bassett (80/100, inferred): The series offers a compelling origin story for Oz Cobb that picks up after The Batman, with rich character work and complex storytelling carrying it despite some sluggish pacing early on. Farrell delivers another astonishing performance as the ambitious, resentful mafioso navigating Gotham's crime families. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/the-penguin-review-the-batman-spin-off-colin-farrell-3792209)
- **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (7/10): The Penguin mixes Sopranos-style character drama with supervillain elements, anchored by Farrell's darkly comedic and committed performance as Oz, though it drags in places with overlong flashbacks. It explores themes of power, insecurity, and corruption in a bleak Gotham world without quite reaching the heights of its influences. [Read](https://collider.com/the-penguin-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Joe George (40/100, inferred): The pilot struggles to balance gritty crime drama with Batman spinoff elements and fails to fully establish Colin Farrell's Penguin as a compelling lead like Tony Soprano. Sofia Falcone's introduction and mob intrigue scenes are singled out as more promising. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-penguin-episode-1-review-colin-farrell-the-batman-spinoff/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Lauren LeFranc
- **Creator:** Lauren LeFranc
- **Director:** Craig Zobel, Helen Shaver, Kevin Bray, Jennifer Getzinger
- **Writer:** Lauren LeFranc, Nick Towne, John McCutcheon, Vladimir Cvetko, Noelle Valdivia, Breannah Gibson, Erika Johnson, Shaye Ogbonna
- **Cinematography:** Darran Tiernan, Jonathan Freeman
- **Editor:** Meg Reticker, Henk van Eeghen, Andy Keir
- **Music:** Mick Giacchino
- **Production design:** Kalina Ivanov
- **Costume design:** Helen Huang
- **Producer:** Dana Robin, Nick Towne, Corina Maritescu
- **Cast:** Colin Farrell as Oz 'The Penguin' Cobb; Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone; Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar; Deirdre O'Connell as Francis Cobb; Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni; Carmen Ejogo as Eve Karlo; Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni; Theo Rossi as Dr. Julian Rush
- **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA
- **Release (the US):** 19 September 2024
- **Genres:** Drama, Crime
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfJG6IiA_s8

## Where to watch in the US

- HBO Max: streaming, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Hulu: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd

*Checked 2026-09-17.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

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---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-penguin