The showrunner behind The Penguin revealed what would need to happen for the show to get a proper Season 2.
Season 1 of the HBO drama is set to have only eight episodes, and a Season 2 does not seem guaranteed. In fact, all signs point to The Penguin being treated like a limited series.
After all, Matt Reeves has confirmed that Colin Farrell's terrible Oz Cobb will be returning for The Batman: Part II, which will spin directly out of where his show leaves off.
Here Is What Needs to Happen for The Penguin Season 2 to Exist
While speaking to the cast of The Penguin at New York Comic Con (NYCC), The Direct's Russ Milheim talked with showrunner Lauren LeFranc, who explained what would need to happen for the show to get a second season.
"We need to feel like we can top ourselves," she admitted:
"I mean, we put it all out on the table. I think that in order to do a second season, we have to feel like we can top ourselves. We have to feel like there's something more there to really dig into. I mean, I really care about all these characters, even if they're terrible people."
"I'd love to keep playing," LeFranc went on, "It just has to be the right thing:"
"It's been a joy to write them, even though they're twisted and complicated and weird and darkly funny. So look, I think Gotham City is just such a fun sandbox to play, and I'd love to keep playing in it, but I think it just has to be the right thing. We should never do anything just to do it."
But, a Season 2 for The Penguin means that Colin Farrell would need to brave the prosthetics that turn him into the show's titular character once again.
"It's a taxing thing," LeFranc admitted, though she made sure to add that Farrell himself "had the best attitude" and "was a joy:"
"I know, and you know, it's a taxing thing. It's crazy. What he went through also, by the way, though he had the best attitude I know he publicly, is like, 'Oh, I was done with it.' I'm like, he was a joy. And I mean that so sincerely because I don't have to say that, but it's deeply true. And you could ask anyone on our crew, and they would say the same thing. So he's the best."
In talking about the reception to The Penguin, LeFranc shared, "It's really thrilling that people seem to connect to it emotionally:"
"It's really thrilling that people seem to connect to it emotionally. I really appreciate that people are caring about all the little details that I cared about as a writer, that people are responding to the humor and the mix of tones, that people are embracing a twisted guy like Oz, and that they're finding the heart in Victor, that they're seeing how challenging and interesting Francis is, and that they've embraced Sophia for more of an original version of that character from the comic. Across the board, all of it's been really exciting."
The Penguin Season 2 or Another Direction?
It is hard to tell if another season of The Penguin is something Max and Matt Reeves will want to do, even with the success of the series.
One of the biggest roadblocks is probably the fact that Colin Farrell may not want to do all the prosthetic work needed for another season. It is an intensive and taxing process, after all.
At the very least, fans know that The Penguin's story in Gotham is far from over. He will next appear in The Batman: Part II, and it is hard to believe that will be the last audiences see of him either.
No matter what, it was confirmed that at least one other The Batman spinoff series is in active development.
One direction that Reeves could go in is simply creating a more limited series focusing on certain characters in his shared Batman universe. In fact, in a recent interview, the writer and director seemed pretty open to a spinoff focusing on Harvey Dent (when his character is eventually introduced).
Hopefully, no matter the direction, Cristin Milioti's former Arkham Asylum resident Sofia Falcone can stick around longer than just Season 1 of The Penguin. She is a fan favorite, and her performance and character are so strong that it's hard to imagine the journey with Sofia ending anytime soon.
The Penguin is now streaming on Max.
