TV SERIES · 2024–2024 · USA
The Penguin
- Created by
- Lauren LeFranc
- Network
- HBO
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 8
- Studio
- 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company, Dylan Clark Productions, Warner Bros. Television
86 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
With the city in peril following the seawall's collapse, Oswald "Oz" Cobb seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and finally give his mother Francis the life he's always promised. But first, Oz must confront his enemies and his own demoralizing reputation as "the Penguin."
86 Interesting Facts About The Penguin
Interesting Facts (19)
- #001
- #002
- #003
- #004
- #005
Cristin Milioti feared her performance would be so "embarrassing" that it would get her fired. She spoke about her nerves regarding the DC role. In her words: "Everything. All of it. I was nervous about doing the character justice. I was nervous about what it would be like to work in a massive franchise, because I had never experienced that before. I was nervous about being bad. I was nervous that the swings I took would be embarrassing, just a kind of run-of-the-mill hurricane of embarrassment, everything and anything."
- #006
- #007
After Burgess Meredith in Batman (1966) and Batman: The Movie (1966), Colin Farrell is the second actor to be seen smoking tobacco as The Penguin in live action. Although Danny DeVito's character smoked in promotional material for Batman Returns (1992), he did not do so in the actual film and even rejected the habit.
- #008
- #009
After Robin Lord Taylor's portrayal in Gotham (2014), Colin Farrell's version of The Penguin is the only other live-action depiction of the character to have an active and significant role in the mob; Burgess Meredith was a supervillain seeking money and power, and Danny DeVito was a deformed terrorist seeking revenge on Gotham City.
- #010
- #011
The series was initially announced as a Max original, but before its premiere it was decided that it would air on HBO instead (alongside other IP-based shows coming from Warner Bros. Discovery, such as It: Welcome to Derry (2025) and Dune: Prophecy (2024)) and stream simultaneously on Max like other HBO originals.
- #012
- #013
- #014
- #015
- #016
- #017
- #018
- #019
HBO's The Penguin has become a topic of discussion with an unexpected development. It is being reported that the series may not have a second season. The news came as a surprise to viewers of the production. No official statement or announcement of a definitive decision regarding the matter has been shared. The Penguin is known as one of HBO's productions in the DC universe. The series' first season was released and it built an audience. The possibility of a second season remains uncertain for now. As developments become clearer, information about the production's future is expected to be shared.
Production Story (25)
- #020
Although the prosthetic application process for the Penguin character was similar to that in The Batman, the demands of a television series brought unique challenges. Farrell had to endure hours-long makeup sessions over the course of more than 80 days, a significant increase compared to the film. Marino and his team worked tirelessly to reduce the application time to 2.5 hours to speed up the process. Marino said, "The series is much harder in terms of maintaining the look and preventing it from falling apart throughout the day. So it was an extreme challenge. It was probably the most challenging thing I've ever done in my career." The series' director, Matt Reeves, was impressed by the advances in prosthetic makeup technology. He observed that modern prosthetics allow actors to preserve their spirit and performance even when undergoing heavy transformations. Marino explains: "Every year that goes by, we invent something new. A different silicone rubber, a different mold-making process, a technical innovation, or we change the hairline, we make it better. We're constantly trying to improve things."
- #021
- #022
- #023
- #024
- #025
Cristin Milioti was afraid her performance would be "embarrassing" and that she would be fired. She expressed her concerns about the DC role as follows: "Everything. All of it. I was worried about being able to do justice to the character. I was worried about what it would be like to work in a giant franchise, because I had never experienced that before. I was worried about being bad. I was worried that the moves I made would be embarrassing, like a plain hurricane of embarrassment, everything."
- #026
Colin Farrell is the second actor to play the Penguin in live action and be seen smoking tobacco; the first was Burgess Meredith in Batman (1966) and Batman: The Movie (1966). Although Danny DeVito's portrayal in Batman Returns (1992) smoked in promotional materials, he did not do so in the film and even rejected the habit.
- #027
After Robin Lord Taylor's portrayal in the series Gotham (2014), Colin Farrell's Penguin is the only other live-action portrayal in which the character has an active and significant role in the mafia. Burgess Meredith's portrayal was a supervillain seeking money and power, while Danny DeVito's was a deformed terrorist seeking revenge on Gotham City.
- #028
- #029
This is Clancy Brown's 19th DC Comics role. He previously voiced Lex Luthor in many DC animated series, films and video games, from Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996) to Lego DC Super-Villains (2018), Big Time in Batman Beyond (1999), Sheriff Morgan in The Zeta Project (2001), Wally West/Flash/President/Guardian of Oa in Justice League Unlimited (2004), Mr. Freeze in The Batman (2004), Rohtul/Burglar/Per Degaton in Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008), King Faraday/Firebreather in Young Justice (2010), Parallax in Green Lantern (2011), Zartok in Green Lantern: The Animated Series (2011), Negative Man/General Immortus in Doom Patrol (2013), Gorilla Grodd in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special II: Villains in Paradise (2014) and General Wade Eiling in The Flash (2014).
- #030
François Chau played Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), the film that introduced the character Rahzar. Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni) voiced a redesigned, updated version of that Rahzar in Nickelodeon's 3D animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), which aired from 2012 to 2017.
- #031
- #032
- #033
According to series producer Lauren LeFranc, Batman does not appear in this series. 'I understand that people want Batman, or that they think a production without him won't have the same impact. But I think it creates a different impact. Matt's films are told from Batman's point of view, looking down at the city from above. With Oz, you're in the streets of the city, in the filth and the mud. He's straining to look up and climb to the top.'
- #034
Series producer Lauren LeFranc says the series' main inspiration was Scarface (1983): 'Matt Reeves came with a Scarface-style rise story. I turned it into a psychological character study of this man. Mob bosses are historically larger than life, so there's an exaggerated air to the story, but he's just a man. A very complicated man. That's what sets him apart from previous versions of the Penguin in the comics; there he came from a rich, well-known family. Matt had already put him in an underdog position in the film by making him Carmine Falcone's second-in-command, but we knew nothing about his family. So it was important to me that he come from nothing and be desperate to gain more status, to be seen as someone more important.'
- #035
Matt Reeves explained why Batman does not intervene in the series' events. 'It was a period when there was great turmoil in the city; it's exactly one week after what happened,' Reeves told Digital Spy. 'Much of the city is in despair, the police can't get everywhere, there's crime everywhere, it's a very, very dangerous time.' 'Batman is out there, to some degree trying to deal with the consequences of everything he blames himself for,' he added.
- #036
- #037
- #038
The series was initially announced as a Max original, but before the premiere it was decided to air it on HBO (along with other IP-based productions from Warner Bros. Discovery such as It: Welcome to Derry (2025) and Dune: Prophecy (2024)), and it streamed simultaneously on Max like other HBO originals.
- #039
- #040
- #041
- #042
While Sofia is in the doctor's office, her eyes are fixed on a flickering light bar; this is a form of therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). In short, the patient suffers because they are stuck in the past, and because the traumatic memory is 'frozen' in the brain's information-processing part due to intense emotions, distressing symptoms continue long after the event. Also, this kind of trauma does not respond well to logic because the nervous system continues to respond by bypassing the thinking brain. By providing rapid eye movement (Bilateral Stimulation, or BLS) while recalling the memory, the brain's short-term or 'working memory' part is overwhelmed by these demands and the brain cannot give its full attention to processing the memory, so the memory becomes less vivid. This allows the person to distance themselves from the memory and reduce the level of emotion in it, so that they begin to remember the event in a more useful and manageable way. BLS also stimulates both sides of the brain, making it easier to form and process new connections related to 'stuck' traumatic memories. Processing trauma usually requires making associations, interpreting visual information, putting emotions into words, and coping with both positive and negative emotions.
- #043
- #044
Behind the Scenes (5)
- #045
The prosthetic application process for The Penguin was largely similar to the one used on The Batman, but the demands of a television series created unique challenges. Farrell had to endure hours of makeup application over the course of more than 80 days, a significant increase compared with the film. To ease the process, Marino and his team worked tirelessly to reduce the application time to 2.5 hours. Marino explained, "The series is much harder to maintain the look and keep it from breaking down throughout the day and all that stuff. So it was an extreme challenge. Probably the hardest thing I've done in my career so far." Series director Matt Reeves was impressed by advances in prosthetic makeup technology, observing that modern prosthetics allow actors to retain their spirit and performance even when heavily transformed. Marino explained the matter this way: "Every year we invent something different. A different silicone rubber, mold-making process, a different technical thing, or we tweak a fine line or make it better. Something is always trying to constantly evolve."
- #046
The prosthetic application process for the Penguin character was similar to that of The Batman film, but the demands of a television series brought unique challenges. Farrell had to endure hours-long makeup sessions over the course of more than 80 days, a significant increase compared to the film. Marino and his team worked tirelessly to reduce the application time to 2.5 hours in order to speed up the process. Marino said, "The series is much harder in terms of maintaining the look and preventing it from falling apart throughout the day. So it was an extreme challenge. It was probably the most challenging thing I've ever done in my career." The series' director, Matt Reeves, was impressed by the advances in prosthetic makeup technology. He observed that modern prosthetics allow actors to preserve their souls and their performances even when they undergo heavy transformations. Marino explains: "With each passing year, we invent something new. We change a different silicone rubber, a different mold-making process, a technical innovation or the hairline, we make it better. We are constantly trying to improve things."
- #047
- #048
- #049
Gotham is clearly inspired by the New York City metropolitan area. Bobby Cuza, Pat Battle, Roma Torre and Dean Meminger are local New York reporters. Bobby Cuza, Roma Torre and Dean Meminger currently work or have worked for NY1, while Pat Battle works for the NBC local station in New York.
Characters & Cast (35)
- #050
- #051
- #052
- #053
- #054
- #055
Cristin Milioti feared her performance would be 'embarrassing' and that she would be fired. She expressed her concerns about the DC role as follows: 'Everything. All of it. I was worried about being able to do justice to the character. I was worried about what it would be like to work in a giant franchise, because I had never experienced that before. I was worried about being bad. I was worried that the moves I made would be embarrassing, just like a regular hurricane of embarrassment, everything.'
- #056
- #057
Colin Farrell is the second actor to play the Penguin in live action and be seen using tobacco; the first was Burgess Meredith in Batman (1966) and Batman: The Movie (1966). Although Danny DeVito's portrayal in Batman Returns (1992) smoked in promotional materials, he did not do so in the film and even rejected the habit.
- #058
After Robin Lord Taylor's portrayal in the Gotham (2014) series, Colin Farrell's Penguin is the only other live-action portrayal in which the character has an active and significant role in the mob. Burgess Meredith's portrayal was a supervillain seeking money and power, while Danny DeVito's was a deformed terrorist seeking revenge on Gotham City.
- #059
- #060
This is Clancy Brown's 19th DC Comics role. He previously voiced Lex Luthor in many DC animated series, films and video games from Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996) to Lego DC Super-Villains (2018), Big Time in Batman Beyond (1999), Sheriff Morgan in The Zeta Project (2001), Wally West/Flash/President/Guardian of Oa in Justice League Unlimited (2004), Mr. Freeze in The Batman (2004), Rohtul/Burglar/Per Degaton in Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008), King Faraday/Firebreather in Young Justice (2010), Parallax in Green Lantern (2011), Zartok in Green Lantern: The Animated Series (2011), Negative Man/General Immortus in Doom Patrol (2013), Gorilla Grodd in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special II: Villains in Paradise (2014) and General Wade Eiling in The Flash (2014).
- #061
- #062
- #063
- #064
- #065
- #066
François Chau played Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), the film that introduced the character Rahzar. Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni) voiced a redesigned and updated version of this Rahzar in Nickelodeon's 3D animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) series, which aired between 2012 and 2017.
- #067
- #068
- #069
According to series producer Lauren LeFranc, Batman does not appear in this series. "I understand that people want Batman, or think that a production without him won't have the same impact. But I think it creates a different impact. Matt's films are told from Batman's perspective, looking down at the city from above. With Oz, you're on the city's streets, in the filth and the mud. He looks up and struggles to climb to the top."
- #070
Series producer Lauren LeFranc says the series' primary inspiration was Scarface (1983): "Matt Reeves came with a Scarface-style rise story. I turned it into a psychological character study of this man. Mob bosses are historically larger than life, so there's an exaggerated air to the story, but he's just a man. A very complicated man. That's what sets him apart from previous versions of the Penguin in the comics; there he came from a wealthy, well-known family. In the film, Matt had already put him in an underdog position by making him Carmine Falcone's second-in-command, but we knew nothing about his family. So it was important to me that he come from nothing and be desperate to gain more status, to be seen as someone more important."
- #071
Matt Reeves explained why Batman does not intervene in the series' events. "It was a period when there was a great upheaval in the city; it's exactly a week after what happened," Reeves told Digital Spy. "A large part of the city is in despair, the police can't get everywhere, there's crime everywhere, a very, very dangerous time." "Batman is out there, to some degree trying to deal with the consequences of everything he blames himself for," he added.
- #072
- #073
- #074
- #075
- #076
The series was initially announced as a Max original, but before the premiere it was decided that it would air on HBO (alongside other IP-based productions from Warner Bros. Discovery such as It: Welcome to Derry (2025) and Dune: Prophecy (2024)) and it streamed simultaneously on Max like other HBO originals.
- #077
- #078
- #079
- #080
- #081
While in the doctor's office, Sofia's eyes were fixed on a flickering light bar; this is a form of therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). In short, the patient suffers because they are stuck in the past, and because the traumatic memory 'freezes' in the brain's information-processing area due to intense emotions, distressing symptoms continue long after the event. Moreover, this kind of trauma does not respond well to logic because the nervous system continues to respond by bypassing the thinking brain. By providing rapid eye movements (Bilateral Stimulation, or BLS) while recalling the memory, the brain's short-term or 'working memory' section is overwhelmed by these demands and the brain cannot give its full attention to processing the memory, so the memory becomes less vivid. This allows the person to distance themselves from the memory and reduce the level of emotion in it, so they begin to remember the event in a more useful and manageable way. BLS also stimulates both sides of the brain, making it easier to form and process new connections related to 'stuck' traumatic memories. Processing trauma usually requires making associations, interpreting visual information, putting emotions into words, and coping with both positive and negative emotions.
- #082
- #083
- #084
Easter Eggs & References (1)
Deeper Meaning (1)
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work