HBO Is Really Trolling Us with ‘The Penguin’ Release Schedule
Colin Farrell stars as the Penguin on a new Batman spin-off series, titled The Penguin, though you would never guess it if his name didn’t flash in the credits. The Banshees of Inisherin star is downright buried under a mountain of makeup and prosthetics for the new HBO crime drama. He transformed into an entirely new version of the DC Comics villain, but luckily for fans, it’s well worth the hours it takes to assemble Oz Cobb.
Farrell reprises his role from Matt Reeves’s The Batman (2022), starring Robert Pattinson and Esquire’s latest cover star, Zoë Kravitz. The new series will bridge the events of the first film with the upcoming sequel, as the Penguin seeks to climb up the ladder of Gotham’s criminal hierarchy. Fans will have to wait for more action from the Batman himself, however, as The Penguin is strictly a villainous affair.
The story begins just one week after the events of The Batman. The Riddler flooded the city and damaged much of Gotham’s infrastructure at the end of the film, instigating a state of emergency where crime can operate unchecked. At the same time, the death of Carmine Falcone (previously John Turturro but now played by Mark Strong in flashbacks) left a massive power vacuum ripe for the taking.
Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) costars as Carmine’s daughter, Sofia Falcone, who was recently released from Arkham Asylum. She’s joined by Clancy Brown (John Wick: Chapter 4) as Mob boss Salvatore Maroni, Michael Kelly (Special Ops: Lioness) as Falcone underboss Johnny Vitti, and Rhenzy Feliz (Encanto) as a teenager named Victor, who becomes the Penguin’s new driver.
How Can I Watch The Penguin?
This one’s a bit confusing. The easy part: The Penguin airs on HBO and streams on Max simultaneously. The twist is that the first episode premieres on Thursday, September 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, but the second episode doesn’t make its way to fans until Sunday, September 29 at the same time. From there, the show will air every Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT until the finale on November 10.
Our best guess is that this is a side effect of The Penguin’s premiere tangling with HBO’s Sunday-night slot for Industry season 3, which will be pushed back from 9:00 p.m. ET/PT to 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. In fact, HBO plans to reair The Penguin’s first episode on Sunday, September 22 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT before the latest Industry episode, for those who missed The Penguin on Thursday. Got all that? To see a detailed release schedule for each episode, check below.
Episode 1: “After Hours” — September 19
Episode 2: “Inside Man” — September 29
Episode 3: “Bliss” — October 6
Episode 4: “Cent-Anni” — October 13
Episode 5: “Homecoming” — October 20
Episode 6: “Gold Summit” — October 27
Episode 7: “Top Hat” — November 3
Episode 8 (Finale): “Great or Little Thing” — November 10
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