Colin Farrell returns as Oz Cobblepot in HBO’s The Penguin, a dark, gritty crime saga exploring Gotham’s chaotic underworld after The Batman.

To say that the new HBO series The Penguin is one of the most eagerly awaited series of the year would be underestimating the anticipation surrounding the return of Oz Cobblepot. In fact, as early as 2022, when Matt Reeves’ The Batman had not yet been officially released, discussions around the development of a series about the Penguin were already underway. Once the critical and public success of Reeves’ Batman had been established, with over $770m worldwide at the box-office, the question of a series deepening the filmmaker’s dark and violent universe was no longer an issue. Once again starring Colin Farrell, this first episode easily picks up where the film left off to set up its premise.

The Penguin picks up almost immediately after the events of The Batman, when chaos has been sown in the city, flooded and in the midst of an uprising. The long tracking shot over Cobblepot, interspersed with news clips, sets the scene for the turmoil and upheaval underway in Gotham’s criminal underworld following the death of mafia godfather Carmine Falcone. In just a few minutes, Oz’s intentions are already in place: to take advantage of this turmoil to establish himself at the top of Gotham’s criminal ranks.

The influences of The Penguin are evident throughout the episode. As Oz kills Alberto Carmine in a fit of violence, his journey and meeting with Vic echoes mafia tales like Goodfellas in its Rags to Riches aspect. But the series quickly expands its cast of characters to introduce Gotham’s various criminal families controlling every part of the city. Working on behalf of one of these families, Oz decides to play a double game and build his empire behind their backs, with the help of a rival family.

Backed by Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack for The Batman, the series also picks up on the visual codes. Craig Zobel – supported by Lauren LeFranc’s script – returns to the dark, violent style established by Matt Reeves in a Gotham that is often rainy, dirty and plagued by poverty. However, where Reeves stayed in the shadows, Zobel reveals his game in broad daylight. From garbage dumps to The Family’s mansion to the subway, this episode takes us on a journey through Gotham by day and night. The use of daytime shots serves the story well, making it easier to relate Oz to his current status. Despite his plum-colored Mazzerati, Cob takes the subway, walks down the street in the middle of everyone. He doesn’t yet have the status of a major Gotham criminal, and that’s what makes him likeable despite his crimes.

Although we can point to a rather fake Gotham in the background during some of the wide shots of the city. HBO’s VFX work remains remarkable on a significant number of sequences and sets, continuing to cultivate the Gotham universe and the destructive events of The Batman. In addition, we quickly notice the production quality often expected of HBO, which here continues to excel despite a much smaller budget than a film production.

Returning to play Ozwald Cobblepot, Colin Farrell recaptures everything that made his character so fascinating on screen in 2022. Even in this first episode, we can sense that the actor is trying to thicken up his character, giving him a less manichean game and personality. The prodigious make-up work allows for several close-ups of his face that add to our investment and projection into the character’s thoughts. However, Rhenzy Feliz’s performance as Vic sometimes seems a little lacking in interest or sincerity in his interpretation and dialogue in this first episode.

The Penguin begins by comfortably laying the groundwork for the series: Oz’s motivations, the Families, the turf war over drug sales in Gotham, and the beginning of his collaboration with Vic. Craig Zobel and Lauren LeFranc take everything that made The Batman such a success, both visually and narratively, and extend the Oz Cob story.