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It turns out The Penguin doesn't need Batman to be a certifiable TV hit. That's right, the HBO miniseries has made an impressive start following its September 19 debut, with the Colin Farrell-led crime drama attracting 5.3 million viewers during its opening weekend.
Confirmation of the Max show's successful showing comes courtesy of Variety, who reported that The Penguin has become HBO's latest success story just four days after its first episode was released. What makes The Batman spin-off series' performance so impressive is that its opening chapter was viewed by more people on Max and HBO – in the US only, by the way – than the premiere episodes of Succession season 4 (4.9 million viewers) and The White Lotus season 2 (4.1 million). Only True Detective: Night Country (5.7 million) can boast about having a better debut weekend on HBO than The Penguin in recent times.
There's more good news for The Penguin. Per Variety's article, the show had the biggest four-day opening on Max, aka one of the world's best streaming services, in all regions that the streaming titan is available. The Last of Us season 1 was the, well, last Max series to enjoy a similarly fantastic debut. As word of mouth gets around about how good The Penguin is, too, you can expect its overall viewing figure to increase further.
Running, not waddling, to victory
It's worth noting that Variety's figures only account for audiences who tuned in to watch the show on Max and HBO. The Penguin also launched on Sky and Now TV in the UK, plus Binge in Australia, so its global viewership figure is likely to be even higher than what's been reported. I've reached out to my Sky and Binge contacts to find out more details about their specific audience numbers for The Penguin's premiere, and I'll update this article if I hear back.
Frankly, I'm not shocked that The Penguin, which sees Farrell reprise his role as Oswald Cobb from The Batman, became an overnight success. Indeed, in my review of The Penguin, I suggested it deserved to hold down a spot in HBO's crime drama pantheon alongside other similarly epic genre fare, such as The Sopranos. As a limited series, it's highly unlikely to enjoy a multi-season run like one of the best Max shows of all-time. That said, considering the critical and commercial acclaim it's been met with, I'm sure HBO executives will be imploring showrunner Lauren LeFranc, executive producer Matt Reeves, and Farrell to make a second season.
Regardless, given what plays out over the course of its eight episodes – I've seen them all but, don't worry, I'm not horrible enough to spoil anything – The Penguin certainly sets up some fascinating story threads that might be followed up on in The Batman Part II. So, even if a second season isn't of interest to the aforementioned trio, we should see more of Farrell's Cobb in the future.
I'll be covering The Penguin throughout its eight-episode run so, while you wait for episode 2 to arrive on September 29 (US) and September 30 (UK and Australia), check out this article on the fascinating Batman Easter egg in episode 1 that'll fill The Dark Knight fans with glee or dread.