THE PENGUIN has been showing great numbers for HBO. Have you been watching the limited series? By now you know that it isn’t a supervillain saga but pure Gangster-style Gotham. And it appears that people are not necessarily tuning in week-by-week but binging it. The premiere episode is still gaining viewership. The first episode has now tallied more than 14M viewers. With each Sunday debut of a new episode, the numbers dance around 1.7 to 1.8 million viewers. That’s a solid number as everyone out there does not subscribe to HBO or the Max service. It has ratcheted it up to a nice 5.3 million U.S. viewers since its debut. That is better than the final season of SUCCESSION and the most recent THE WHITE LOTUS.
But, hey that’s just all numbers. It is the quality of this gritty tale that keeps the viewers coming back or catching on to the series. This writer, unfortunately, is going to have to binge-watch it at some other point, as appointment TV can’t happen. But that is what makes Max a nice outlet so that any of us can catch it and other HBO-quality shows on our schedules.
As of this writing, the series is just over its halfway mark, with three installments to go. And with that, we see that the power struggle between Oz Cobb and Sofia Falcone is coming to a head. Who will become Gotham’s next kingpin because both sides are determined to take over Gotham for themselves as they assemble their armies. That fact was reinforced by the mid-season trailer. That dropped before this week’s “Homecoming” episode.
How will the saga end? Episode breakdowns reveal the following data:
The Penguin – Gold Summit
Season 1 Episode 6
Adult Content, Adult Language, Nudity, Violence
Despite his enemies’ attempts to smoke him out, Oz seeks to expand his reach in the city. Meanwhile, Victor crosses paths with a former adversary.
Sun, Oct 27 at 9:00 pm EDT HBO
The Penguin – Top Hat
Season 1 Episode 7
Adult Content, Adult Language, Violence
Oz fights to preserve his family and his enterprise, while Sofia makes a shocking discovery.
Sun, Nov 03 at 9:00 pm EST HBO
The Penguin – A Great or Little Thing
Season 1 Episode 8
Adult Content, Adult Language, Mild Violence
Truths are laid bare as Oz Cobb nears the end of his journey and his power struggle with Sofia comes to a head.
Sun, Nov 10 at 9:00 pm EST HBO
Who needs Batman, right? Enjoy the concluding episodes of THE PENGUIN. And let me throw this out there – if anyone wants to volunteer to write an overall review of the series upon its conclusion, I’m game for it. Just comment below.
