Sorry for the delay on this one, painting a house is taking up a good chunk of my life right now. But I did manage to fit in the premiere of HBO’s latest show and I’m sure it’s one you’ve been excited for. The Penguin is, of course, a spinoff to the acclaimed Matt Reeves film The Batman, and stars Colin Farrell as the titular villain. But the show is less of a comicbook/superhero show and more of a mob saga, just set within the Gotham universe. The result is a pretty engaging premiere episode.

The Penguin opens up with a bit of an exposition dump for those who may have forgotten or never seen The Batman. Once we’re all up to speed, the show begins properly, with Oswald “Oz” Cobb making moves of his own to take over the criminal underworld of Gotham in the wake of the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone. Of course, he’s immediately busted snooping around the offices of the Iceberg Lounge by Alberto Falcone, the heir apparent and a user. What follows is a really great conversation scene between two men trying to curry each other’s favour while also coming off as standoffish, with a ton of ego and pride thrown into the mix. Alberto comes off as grateful to Oz, but also antagonizes him and questions his loyalty, and this back and forth eventually comes to a breaking point and Oz straight up murders Alberto in a snap decision of poor judgment. What follows is a desperate bid to hide the body and protect his alibi, all while taking on a kid under his wing who was trying to steal his rims at the time of the murder.

Said kid, Victor Aguilar, becomes Oz’s accomplice in the murder, helping him move the body and hide in. Vic knows he’s going to die, but does everything to win over Oz’s favour and trust. Of course, Oz spares the kid. We have to like Oz enough to keep watching this show after all. So we have this dynamic between a gangster who is good at his job but isn’t very well respected or liked among the criminal higher-ups, and a kid who seemingly wants to be in this world but does seem like he’s out of his depth. It’s a nice pairing.

On the topic of not being liked, Oz learns that the Falcones want to take control of his drug operation in Gotham, which sets him on a path to the Maroni crime family in an attempt to find a position with the opposition. After being denied, despite returning a precious ring to Sal Maroni that he recovered from Alberto’s body, Oz figures there’s only one path left: to set the two families against each other. To do that, he uses Alberto’s body (sans-pinky finger) to send a message while being tortured by Alberto’s sister, Sofia, who was recently released from Arkham Asylum and strongly suspects Oz in the disappearance of her brother. The message not only “exonerates” Oz, but sets the families on a collision course. It’s all very captivating, with Sofia (played by Cristin Milioti), playing the role with enough unhinged madness and power management to keep us interested and terrified of her.

Farrell steps easily back into Oz’s shoes for the show and disappears into the role. All the prospects and the accent really make it easy to forget that we’re watching a famous Hollywood actor and it becomes easier to think about the character. The Penguin, as I mentioned, is more of a mob show and taps into a lot of the tropes and expectations found in that genre and Farrell certainly leans into that more in the show than he did in the movie. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his name pop up on the Best Actor nominee list at next year’s Emmys. There are certainly elements of shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad, in terms of having an ambitious and layered criminal in the lead role and it’s great to see Oz’s mind at work and what his life is like beyond the flashy cars and clothes. Unlike The Batman, which felt larger than life thanks to its titular lead, The Penguin is far more grounded than that movie, showcasing everything from a boots-on-the-ground approach without any fancy tech to help the protagonist.

The Penguin also looks great, especially since it’s a TV show. Gotham certainly feels and looks maybe a bit too much like New York City, but the show isn’t lacking in scope. Mick Giacchino, son of Michael, takes on the responsibilities of the score with great success while Lauren Lefranc (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), serves as showrunner.

I’m, of course, invested in this show already so stay tuned for more reviews (hopefully more timely). If you’re a fan of old-timey gangster films, specifically those with Italian-American characters, and shows like The Sopranos, then I’d recommend this one. You don’t even need to be a fan of superheroes or Batman to like this show (so far at least) and that definitely works in its favour.