The Penguin has just done something no other DC series has achieved before. The second installment in Matt Reeves' The Batman Epic Crime Saga has become the first DC series to receive a nomination at the Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
The Penguin has been nominated alongside the Netflix series Baby Reindeer, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, and Ripley, Apple TV+'s Disclaimer, and fellow HBO/Max series, True Detective: Night Country. Additionally, The Penguin stars Cristin Milioti (Sofia Gigante) and Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb) received nominations for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television, respectively. The Penguin is the first installment in The Batman Epic Crime Saga and the first DC Studios production to receive Golden Globe Awards nominations.
Set one week after the events of 2022's The Batman, The Penguin follows Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb as he attempts to take control of Gotham's criminal underworld. The eight-episode HBO limited series is the second entry in Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga, serving as a bridge between The Batman (2022) and its upcoming sequel, The Batman Part II, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2026.
The Penguin received near-unanimous acclaim from critics, with the HBO limited series certified fresh on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes at 95 percent. The series was also a ratings success, with The Penguin topping viewership and streaming charts throughout its 8-week run. However, despite this success, a second season of The Penguin has not yet been considered by HBO and DC, with showrunner Lauren LeFranc stating in November 2024that another season will only happen if they "feel like we can top ourselves." She explained, "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.
