I wouldn't say it's come out of the blue, since HBO did trail it extensively in the couple of months before it started, but it's fair to say that The Penguin has still taken many folks by surprise. This brilliant crime procedural set in Batman's Gotham City (but without a hint of Batman himself) has won over a legion of fans.
It's mature, bloody, subtle and nuanced, and alongside Colin Farrell as the main man himself it features a range of incredibly impressive supporting performances. Cristin Milioti was by no means an unknown before this, but her star has certainly never been higher as a result of her superb performances all season.
Now that the show has nearly concluded its run (in dramatic style) there are going to be some big questions hanging over the whole thing moving forward. Farrell hasn't exactly been singing the praises of his shooting experience, with the amount of prosthetics he wears in costume clearly causing some discomfort.
There's no word on whether we'll get a second season, in short, so those who want to really make the most of the moment and squeeze every bit of juice from the first season should be on the hunt for extras. How lucky, then, that HBO has actually been obliging on that front for weeks, now.
Tucked away on its YouTube channel you'll find uploads of The Penguin Official Podcast, HBO's own inside look at the show, featuring interviews with its creative team, from actors to technical talent. The podcast is pretty fascinating, since it brings in different talking heads each week to give you insight into the thinking behind key creative choices.
One week that might mean hearing from a script supervisor on why they tweaked certain scenes from how they were first written, or from the senior showrunners about how a certain sequence was deemed pivotal to the overall story. There's been an episode per week since the show started to air, too, meaning you've got more than half a dozen to catch up on.
This might not provide any huge revelations about plans for a second season, or similar, but it's a brilliant way to learn more about a show that's taken so many people by surprise. HBO does the same for other shows like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, too, which is the sort of added value that keeps it in the running as one of the best streaming services out there.
