Summary

The Penguin premiered in 2024, featuring Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti, becoming a successful hit series with 5.3m US viewers.
Colin Farrell won the SAG award for Best Male Actor, while Cristin Milioti received well-deserved recognition for her role as Sophia Falcone.
Milioti expressed her concerns about toxic fandoms, highlighting disappointments in the evolution of fan cultures surrounding popular franchises.

HBO's The Penguin premiered in September 2024 and, due to the multi-layered performance of Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot and the intensity of Cristin Milioti's Sofia Falcone, the series went on to become one of the most successful TV shows for the streamer. Opening to 5.3 million US viewers across all platforms since its debut in the first four days, The Penguin firmly marked its territory as one of the best shows of 2024.

It's no surprise that Farrell went on to win the award for Best Male Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie for The Penguin during the Screen Actors Guild ceremony, giving a moving speech to his sons and fellow nominees. After being snubbed at the Golden Globes with the award for Best Actress in a Limited Series going to Jodie Foster for True Detective: Night Country, Cristin Milioti thankfully received deserved recognition for her role as Sophia Falcone in The Penguin at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards. In her latest role in Black Mirror's Season 7 episode, USS Callister: Into Infinity, Milioti plays Nanette Cole and, while the returning series has its own divided fandom, Milioti opens up about how toxic some of them are and how some fandoms have seemingly moved away from the one thing that had made them so special to begin with.

The Penguin Was More Tasking Than The Batman In One Major Way

The Penguin might have managed to retain some of the endearing visual style of The Batman, but that boon didn't come cheap in a whole host of ways.

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By Ademilade Shodipe-Dosunmu

The Penguin’s Cristin Milioti Lifts the Lid on Toxic Fandoms

Talking to MovieWeb, Cristin Milioti revealed her opinions on the current state of toxic fandoms that include Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, stating that she feels "disappointed" at how things fandoms, which used to be a safe place for celebrating people's differences who find themselves like an outsider, has now become a "culture of cruelty." "But what really fascinates me and then disappoints me about some fandom is that all of these things, whether it's DC or Star Wars, or Marvel, it's all about people feeling like they're outsiders, and feeling that it's their differences that give them power. And yet, sometimes these fandoms are so hell-bent on making sure no one has any differences other than them. And I find that really confusing," expressed Milioti.

"I think that most fandom comes from a golden place. My own fandom comes from a golden place of, like, feeling misunderstood sometimes, just by way of growing up in the world. And you know, getting to watch things that allowed me to escape that, and also feel things. It gave me space to either cry or laugh or think about things that are happening all around me in a different context. It's like our version of Greek mythology or something."

Although not naming anyone specifically, Cristin Milioti went on to mention that people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who have taken great power over the country, "wear their lack of compassion as a badge of honor" and the actor found this aspect really difficult to "wrap your brain around how someone gets there." However, Milioti believes that this is seemingly the current climate right now, in and outside of fandoms, stating that "It's brutal and horrible," and how it all almost seems fictional somehow, saying "We are surrounded by actual villains." Now.

On Reddit, fans have shared their thoughts on Milioti's toxic fandom opinions, backing the actor up on many of her valid points. One comment said, "She hit the nail on the head there, I've seen this so much. "This is for me...and only for me", while another stated, "She is right. Some people turn me off on the whole idea of really liking something because there are those who get way too into it."

Even though many fans of The Penguin are crying out for a second season, Matt Reeves' most recent update seems to indicate that The Batman 2 is his current main focus and if a second season of The Penguin is going to happen, it wouldn't be until the movie is completed. However, more disappointing news came recently that The Penguin Season 2 isn't being thought of right now, but to make it happen, Warner Bros. Television Group CEO Channing Dungey said that all the cast would need to be involved to get the ball rolling again.

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