a compelling and complex sequel to ‘The Batman’

Mmore than a decade after Christopher Nolan’s definitive Dark Knight Trilogywe continue to find ourselves in Gotham. Next month, for example, will see the release of Joker: Foil for TwoTodd Phillips’ daring prison musical starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.

Here too is The Penguina TV spin-off that gets under the rubbery skin of Colin Farrell’s mafioso Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb, a role he first took on in Matt Reeves’ rain-swept noir The Batman (2022) How does Cobb become The Penguin, a figure so terrifying that he own definite article? To answer that question, showrunner Lauren LeFranc’s eight-episode series picks up shortly after the events of the film, returning us to a horrifying metropolis still reeling from massive flooding caused by a now-imprisoned Riddler.

Life may be rosy in the wealthy suburbs, but the inner city has descended even further into violence and chaos. One of the biggest catalysts to Gotham’s seemingly insoluble problems is its sodden residents’ difficulty obtaining “drops,” an illegal drug that is comically absorbed through the eye like contact lens solution. Cobb, however, has been alerted to a major shipment on its way. If he can successfully play off the city’s two rival crime families, he might just be able to break out of the proverbial slums and assume a position of serious power.

Like joker and the aforementioned sequel, The Penguin doesn’t star Batman and instead explores the title character’s origin story. Cobb’s greatest enemy at the start of the new series is Sofia Falcone (a quietly menacing Cristin Milioti), the daughter of slain crime boss Carmine Falcone, who suspects he’s up to something. Fortunately, The Penguin has help in the form of Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), an impressionable child who unwisely agrees to become Cobb’s lackey.

LeFranc has successfully created a Gotham that’s different from Reeves’s—hers is slightly less rainy and, thankfully, better lit—but has retained the cynicism that’s boiled down to the corruption-ridden city. A TV budget can’t compete with big screen, however: when Cobb drives through town muttering, “Look at this—what that fucking lunatic did,” the camera cuts to what looks like a fairly normal highway. The pacing can be slow, too, with an overly chatty first episode clocking in at 66 minutes.

But after that things get better, and what does The Penguin is the richness of his characters and the complexity of his story. Cobb could be an archetype – a mob boss who loves his mother – but the roots of his ambition and raging resentment against the world are gradually exposed, creating a compulsive story. And it turns out there’s more to his ailing mother (Deirdre O’Connell) than meets the eye.

As in The Batmanthe soundtrack thumps with choice cuts (Dinah Washington’s aching “Tears And Laughter” is used beautifully), while LeFranc cleverly builds momentum through Cobb’s chess-like moves. In one scene, he promises the city is his, only to be asked, “What are you going to do to get it?”

The subsequent journey from the gutter makes this show more compelling than it perhaps should be, and a heavily made-up Farrell is as astonishing as ever in the role. With a sequel to The Batman However, it has been confirmed that Gotham is becoming increasingly crowded.

‘The Penguin’ premieres September 20 on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV