Sometimes, the more unpleasant aspects of human nature and the woeful state of the world seem inescapable, so it isn’t particularly outlandish that two of the best streaming TV shows currently in progress feature veritable super-villains as their lead characters. It’s understandable that one might recoil from tuning in and willfully diving into the darker realms. A more measured and enriching response would be to buck up, watch, and enjoy the great writing, directing, and acting that elevate The Penguin and Agatha All Along beyond their comic-book origins and above plenty of other television fare.
‘The Penguin’
Upon learning of The Penguin, those who are burned out on superhero and superhero-related narratives will be wary. But this is a gritty crime drama, not your typical parade of preternaturally gifted spandex-adorned specimens going at it, fists flying and lasers aflame. The title character in this series, which is now in the middle of an eight-episode run on HBO Max, has only a passing resemblance to the squawking villain of the campy 1960s Batman TV program or director Tim Burton’s flamboyant 1992 movie, Batman Returns. Rather, The Penguin is a spinoff from filmmaker Matt Reeves’ more serious, grounded 2022 take on DC Comics’ Caped Crusader, The Batman. For this interpretation created by Lauren LeFranc and executive produced by Reeves, the criminal Oz “Penguin” Cobb (the erstwhile Oswald Cobblepot) is portrayed by actor Colin Farrell in hyper-realistic fashion as a disparaged yet brutally ambitious mid-level gangster whose trademark waddle is the result of a crippled leg.
Along with his gait, Oz’s pudgy girth, facial scars, and prominent nose earn him the insulting nickname, the Penguin, and are made palpable with phenomenally realistic thoroughly seamless prosthetics that hide Farrell’s usually fit, handsome visage. Farrell completely disappears into the character — a monumental feat, and it’s as much if not more about the actor’s command of his craft, his vocal modulations, his accent, and his lumbering physicality as it is the make-up effects. In The Penguin, Oz endeavors to pit the Maroni gang, led by the incarcerated Salvatore Maroni, against the Falcones, the gang that he served as a lieutenant until the death of its boss, Carmine Falcone, as they all jockey for control of Gotham City’s drug trade. Oz hopes to emerge as the ultimate man in charge, although Sofia Falcone, the unhinged daughter of Carmine, has plans of her own and a grudge against Oz.
The Penguin is a gritty crime drama, not your typical parade of preternaturally gifted spandex-adorned specimens going at it, fists flying and lasers aflame.
The Batman is nowhere to be seen, at least as the first part of the series plays out. In other words, this is a mobster versus mobster tale with Oz’s struggle to be the ultimate crime boss in Gotham and triumph over his detractors as its overarching storyline. There’s also a subplot involving Victor, a slum-dwelling teenager whose family and neighborhood were destroyed by catastrophe. Victor is taken under Oz’s wing during a moment of empathy, and the kid’s capitulation to a life of crime is in clear parallel to the Penguin’s own life choices — brought on by the need of a marginalized individual to survive in a pitiless urban battleground. That pulpy milieu is made real through expert art direction and cinematography in line with the shadowy murk of comparable mob sagas, and the characterizations are complex, finessed by the entire cast, including Rhenzy Feliz as Victor, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, Carmen Ejogo as Oz’s lover Eve, and especially Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone.
Much like Farrell as Oz, Milioti is almost unrecognizable in the role of Sofia. It’s not due to any radical cosmetic application in her case. The actor has notably played sweet-natured waifs and pixie types in previous projects, such as the final season of TV’s How I Met Your Mother and the rom-com Palm Springs. In contrast, Sofia is a Mafia princess and accused killer, just released after a decade in a state mental hospital and trying to wrest rule over the Falcones’ business from her uncle. And Milioti is fearsome and tormented as Sofia, Oz’s most significant rival in The Penguin as he tries to upend the balance of power in Gotham’s underworld for his own gain. It’s one heck of a clash.
‘Agatha All Along’
Another series that belies its comic-book roots initially seems to be one more entry in the ongoing, interrelated Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In fact, Agatha All Along is a de facto sequel to 2021’s genre-bending nine-episode WandaVision that followed the exploits of Avengers sorceress Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch after she’s trapped in an ever-evolving television sitcom set in the otherwise unremarkable suburban New Jersey town of Westview. Also nine episodes long, Agatha All Along picks up the story of Wanda’s wicked WandaVision nemesis, the ageless witch Agatha Harkness, played again with jubilant sarcasm by Kathryn Hahn.
You needn’t be up on Marvel lore to follow Agatha All Along.
Agatha is living in Westview, powerless and ensnared in a false reality that’s a little different than the one Wanda experienced. Instead of living in a sitcom, Agatha is the star of what appears to be a parody of a woman-centric detective series like HBO’s Mare of Easttown. Until she realizes that the real mysteries that need solving are how and why she’s there and who she really is. From that point on, Agatha All Along turns into a quest narrative with the unrepentant villainess gathering together a coven of disgruntled local witches whose otherworldly skills have eroded. Agatha’s plan is to use the group, including one enigmatic teenage boy, to open a mystical portal, walk the Witches’ Road, and by completing the journey, regain her stolen magic. The remaining members of the witchy group each have goals of their own. And for extra motivation, they’re being chased by the Salem Seven — a spell-casting, shape-shifting entourage dedicated to destroying Agatha.
With scene-stealers such as the ubiquitous comedy queen Aubrey Plaza, Broadway superstar Patti LuPone, Saturday Night Live veteran Sasheer Zamata, and wacky sitcom mom Debra Jo Rupp as fellow travelers alongside the bombastically funny Hahn, the show’s mix of witchcraft, whimsy, and original musical numbers soars like a cackling crone riding a broomstick across a moonlit sky. Created by WandaVision mastermind Jac Schaeffer, Agatha All Along is available on Disney+ and fits into MCU franchise continuity, albeit adjacently. There are Easter eggs and sly references to various figures in the movie and TV chronicle, if that’s your jam. The good news is that you needn’t be up on Marvel lore to follow Agatha All Along. Graced by a gaggle of entertaining performers, snarky humor, and catchy tunes, the trip is its own reward.
