TITLE: “After Hours”
EPISODE DETAILS: Season 1/Episode 1
PREVIOUS: n/a
AIR DATE: Thursday, August 19, 2024
WRITERS: Lauren LeFranc
DIRECTOR: Craig Sobel
SHOWRUNNER: Lauren LeFranc
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: In the wake of Carmine Falcone’s death, Oz attempts to legitimize himself among Gotham’s criminal underworld.
CAST: Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb, Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone, Deidre O’Connell as Francis Cobb, Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, Cristin Milioti, and others.
REVIEW
The sequel to THE BATMAN is finally here!
No, not THE BATMAN: PART II — we’ve got 2 years ’til that hits theaters — it’s THE PENGUIN debuting last night on HBO/MAX (I watched it on the latter).
As we all know (because if you’re reading this, you’re a Batman fan and saw THE BATMAN back in 2022), The Riddler (Paul Dano) killed Gotham mob kingpin Carmine Falcone (John Turturro in THE BATMAN with Mark Strong taking over the role in THE PENGUIN) causing a massive power vacuum in Gotham’s organized crime underworld.
Oh yeah, Edward Nashton also bombed Gotham’s levee flooding a large part of the city.
There’s a quick recap of those events via TV news reports. (Thus, someone who didn’t watch THE BATMAN can certainly get on board and watch THE PENGUIN. (And this is where THE PENGUIN picks up the story of THE BATMAN EPIC CRIME SAGA.
Colin Farrell returns as Oz “The Penguin” Cobb (Yes COBB, not COBBLEPOTT…don’t get your fanboy underwear in a twist about that, OK?) and has desires to take control of the Falcone Crime Family himself…though he seems to be resigned to the fact that Carmine’s son, Alberto (Michael Zegen, “Mr. Maisel” himself!) will inherit the throne. Unfortunately, Alberto has an “accident” that takes him out of the running…permanently. (What a “HOLY F**K moment that was!)
Fortunately for the Falcone family, there’s another heir to Carmine’s kingdom in the form of Alberto’s sister, Sofia (Cristin Milioti) who has just been released after a lengthy stay at Arkham Asylum. Thus, the Falcones still have a player in the game.
Then there’s the man who Carmine F’ed over (before the events of THE BATMAN), Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown). However, Sal is still in prison serving time after being set up by Carmine. As of this episode, Sal’s still in Blackgate Prison. I have to figure that since he was convicted with planted evidence by a super-corrupt District Attorney’s office in Carmine Falcone’s pocket, his conviction will be overturned and released from prison. He’ll certainly try to seize what was once his.
The audience is also introduced to Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), who goes from a would-be victim to a potential protege for Oz, and Oz’s mother Francis (Deidre O’Connell), who seems to be the Cobb family’s driving force…especially with Oz. I suspect both will play major roles in the series as this first season progresses.
Farrell is great as Oz — which shouldn’t be a shock to anyone who saw his fantastic performance in THE BATMAN. We know Oz ain’t no good guy — I mean, The Penguin is a MAJOR Batman villain — but you can’t help but root for the guy…at times. But make no mistake, Oz is one bad, mean, ruthless S.O.B.
Cristin Milioti’s performance as Sofia Falcone matches Farrell’s. She’s smart, dangerous, and crazy AF (She was locked up in Arkham for years!) — a total wildcard that Oz will have to deal with.
THE PENGUIN — with its TV-MA rating — takes the dark, gritty, and violence of THE BATMAN to another level. And what one HELL of a cliffhanger ending! – Bill “Jett” Ramey
GRADE: A
