‘The Penguin’ Showrunner Lauren LeFranc on Reviving Gotham

The Penguin takes us to Oz Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) version of Gotham. It takes place immediately after the events of The BatmanThe series offers a fascinating look at the dark side of the Dark Knight’s homeland, with showrunner Lauren LeFranc putting the spotlight on Gotham’s mafia families.

Speaking with LeFranc at the press conference for the series, she shared some of her insights into the show. One of my favorite details comes from the show’s ties to The BatmanWhile they’re sparse, with only Oz speaking Spanish (as he knew canonical Spanish in the film), giving fans a small taste of Batman’s (Robert Pattinson) world, it’s fascinating how many The Penguin exists as something in itself.

“I think it’s just about being very specific and very focused on the details,” she said of incorporating the film’s small details. “The devil is in the details and to me that’s what’s so meaningful. In everything I write, I want those little moments. I want to make sure that it’s not just about scope and scale and something bigger, but that it’s about really living and engaging with those characters.”

She went on to talk about the Gotham that Matt Reeves had built with his structure. The Batman:

“Of course I also wanted to honor what Matt built in his version of Gotham City The Batman. So I wanted to be kind of an expert at that and take that and run with it and then try to make something totally new out of it, while still honoring it. The advantage is that we can follow a guy like Oz. He’s so different from Batman. So the mood and the tone in that regard is quite different. But to your point, I wanted to make sure that when you looked at Gotham City, it still felt like the same place, and who Oz is and what’s in The Batman is still our Oz. We just get to deepen him and learn a lot more about him and his backstory and his history and why he is the way he is. And that, to me, is the most exciting thing about doing a project like this.”

Balancing comedy and the mafia tone of The Penguin

Part of the appeal of Oz in The Batman was his humor. He made jokes at Batman’s expense, shouted things at Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) that were relatable but also hilarious in context. Those are the moments that stood out in Reeves’ film and made Oz a fascinating aspect of the film. With The Penguinwe still get to see that humor, but with a slightly more serious tone as he guides the Falcone family.

Sofia (Cristin Milioti) is back and wants revenge for her brother’s death. Oz, the man responsible, must continue to hide that fact. There’s wonderful comedy in Sofia’s deep need to prove herself and her dark approach to the Falcone lifestyle versus Oz’s chaotic energy.

“It’s the most exciting when I can honestly enjoy myself as a writer,” LeFranc said when I asked about finding the balance between the show’s tones. “I love mixing tones. I’ve always loved comedy, I love writing comedy, and I also really love darker emotional, gritty stories. I love both because I think that’s what makes us human and that’s very accurate to the world. And I think, you know, if our show was just violent or just showed the kind of dark side, it would just be hard for me to really enjoy and watch. And so I wanted to mix that. I think it’s more in tune with how people are. And so all of our characters have a kind of dark humor or a wit in them in different ways. Of course. I mean, it’s very liberating to write a guy like Oz, because he can say and do whatever he wants.”

She went on to talk about Oz’s power in Gotham:

“He walks into a room and just takes charge,” LeFranc said. “And I don’t get to do that very often. So it’s really fun to write a character like him and also really exciting to write all the other characters on our show. Like Sofia Falcone, she’s a very complex woman. She’s very multi-dimensional. And to be able to balance that out and then bring in Victor, who is just the heart of our show, and Francis who just has grit and spunk, it’s really a joy to have all these different dynamic characters and explore them in depth.”

The Penguin is available on HBO and HBO Max. New episodes are released on Sundays.