The Penguin
HBO
The Penguin ended its first season with a brutal gut punch that I’ve already discussed at length here. The show is an all-time great comic book series (and honestly, mob/crime series in general), but it was always designed as a miniseries.
However.
When a show is praised enough, does well enough in terms of viewership, plans can change. And they may in fact be changing for The Penguin, similar to how HBO flipped The White Lotus and Big Little Lies from miniseries to have more seasons past their initial runs. Spoilers follow about the Penguin finale.
After the finale, there are many indications that this is not being ruled out. Colin Farrell revealed that he has five or six scenes in The Batman Part II, given what he’s been told. But when asked about season 2? He’s fully on board, despite previously saying he never wanted to wear the prosthetics and fat suit again. I wonder if a likely Emmy nomination and possible win would sway him further. Here’s what he said to THR:
“If there’s a great idea [for season two]and the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than it was the first season, of course I would do it.”
The Penguin
HBO
This echoes what showrunner Lauren LeFranc previously said about potentially returning for a second season.
“I mean, we put it all out on the table. I think that in order to do a second season, we have to feel like we can top ourselves. We have to feel like there’s something more there to really dig into. I mean, I really care about all these characters, even if they’re terrible people.”
“It’s been a joy to write them, even though they’re twisted and complicated and weird and darkly funny. So look, I think Gotham City is just such a fun sandbox to play, and I’d love to keep playing in it, but I think it just has to be the right thing. We should never do anything just to do it.”
The idea of a second Penguin is a bit more complicated than something like The White Lotus, as it is part of a larger cinematic and TV universe with Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Epic Crime Saga,” as it is oddly called. There are two more movies coming (Farrell has a deal for all three, he reveals) and at least one or two more spin-off shows that were discussed before this idea of The Penguin possibly returning.
The Penguin did keep Sofia Falcone alive, so it’s possible she could escape Arkham for another run against Oz, perhaps this time with her half-sister Selina Kyle in tow, as teased in the finale. And if Farrell is signed on for two more Batman movies, and only has 5 or 6 scenes in the next one, presumably he would survive and potentially be another bridge between the last two films.
I don’t know if this is a good idea. Sometimes you simply do not want to mess with perfection, and if you cannot live up to the original run, you may not want to try, as both Farrell and Lauren LeFranc say here. I mean, obviously I would watch it, but I also sort of want this season 1 to stay crystalized as near perfect, and see what else this “Crime Saga” might give us on HBO.
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