Right from the get-go, The Penguin finds itself in a sticky situation.
The new series from HBO serves as a sequel of sorts to Matt Reeves’s The Batman, but it can’t risk changing the paradigm in Gotham City too much. After all, Reeves has The Batman Part II to prep for, so The Penguin needs to keep the playing field relatively similar to the end of the first movie in order to ensure continuity between the films. That leaves showrunner Lauren LeFranc with a seemingly small amount of wiggle room to work with.
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Luckily, LeFranc and The Penguin are able to do quite a lot with that minimal space, conjuring up a grounded (if somewhat derivative) crime drama that examines how Batman villain Oswald “Oz” Cobb (Colin Farrell) became the monster he is today.
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