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The Penguin · Season 1 · JioHotstar

The Penguin Season 1

The Penguin Season 1 is a MUST-WATCH, BollyMeter 8.8/10. 8 episodes on JioHotstar from 19 September 2024.

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BollyMeter8.8/1095% on Rotten Tomatoes from 195 critics. Colin Farrell's transformation and Cristin Milioti's scene-stealing Sofia Falcone gave critics what amounted to a character study wrapped in a mob drama - darker and more precise than superhero TV typically manages.

Updated

What BollyAI Thinks

The Penguin is the best argument DC has made in years for the superhero-adjacent limited series format. Lauren LeFranc built eight episodes around Oz Cobb's ascent - and crucially, the show works as a crime drama first and a DC property second. Colin Farrell under three hours of prosthetics delivers a performance of genuine menace and dark comedy, but the critical surprise was Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone: wounded, brilliant, and terrifying. Critics pointed to the show's willingness to let Gotham be genuinely grimy - no CGI spectacle, mostly intimate rooms and bad decisions. The 5.3 million viewers at launch were the highest-rated HBO premiere in two years, and the critical score (95% RT) put it among the best DC productions ever made.

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The Room

95%critics positive · n=1958.6/10IMDb audience
  • “A ferociously entertaining crime drama elevated by two powerhouse lead performances - and Colin Farrell is unrecognisable in the best possible way.”
    Rotten Tomatoes (critics consensus)

Standout Episodes

The hours worth arguing about - premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.

  1. E1After Hours8.7

    The Penguin picks up immediately after the Riddler's flooding of Gotham in The Batman (2022), dropping Oz Cobb into the power vacuum with nothing but audacity and tactical instinct. The premiere establishes the series' register - Sopranos-adjacent mob drama with superhero-adjacent origin story - and confirms that Colin Farrell's prosthetic transformation is matched by a performance of comparable depth.

    The moment: Oz Cobb surveying a flooded, ruined Gotham and calculating exactly how to turn catastrophe into opportunity - the moment that defines the character for the entire run.

    Full review of E1 →
  2. E3Sofia in Wonderland8.2

    A tense, product-to-panic chapter where Bliss gives Oz momentum and turns Victor’s exit into a locked door.

    The moment: Sofia's account of Arkham - the specific, calm way she describes what happened to her there - the scene that makes the entire season's power dynamic suddenly legible.

    Full review of E3 →
  3. E8A Great or Little Thing8.9

    The Penguin's finale resolves the mob war it has been building since the premiere and delivers on Oz Cobb's coronation as the series' title character in both name and power. A satisfying close that earns its darkness without exploiting it, and leaves Gotham's gangland in a configuration the broader DC universe will have to reckon with.

    The moment: Oz's final act against the Falcone family - the specific, precise nature of his vengeance, which makes his transformation into the Penguin feel inevitable rather than scripted.

    Full review of E8 →