‘The Penguin’ overthrows the competition to steal a major streaming milestone, but even DC can’t beat Daddy Pedro

The follow-up to critically beloved The Batman has finally swam into view. Max’s The Penguin takes place a week after the events of Riddler’s (Paul Dano) terrorist plot against the Gotham seawall, and it sees Colin Farrell reprise his role as the newly dubbed Oswald Cobb, who has yet to fit into the shoes of the Penguin.

Among one of Batman’s gallery of rogues, the new series follows Oz’s attempts to seize power in the wake of Carmine Falcone’s — now played by Mark Strong — death. The first episode aired on the streaming platform on Sept. 19 and did not disappoint. Entitled “After Hours,” the series premiere is on par with a gritty character-driven feature film.

The events of the show kick off when Oz impulsively kills Carmine’s son, Alberto Falcone. He quickly realizes the ramifications of this rash act but once it happens, there is no undoing it. Once the episode starts, there is a domino effect that cannot be stopped. With the help of his new acolyte, Vick (Rhenzy Feliz), Oz travels around Gotham trying to tie up loose ends and cover his tracks. The wrench in the plan is the arrival of Alberto’s sister, Sofia (Cristin Milioti) who knows more than she lets on. The episode is a captivating character drama that opens the door to many more episodes.

With over 5 million views over the premiere weekend, there is no doubt that fans are in agreement. However, as much as The Penguin is a home run for both DC Studios and Max, the show still has not dethroned one of the biggest premieres on the streaming platform to date.

The Last of Us ratings make it the reigning king of Max streaming

DC has a certain amount of marketability that ensures viewers will tune in, but The Last of Us was almost an anomaly. Though adapted from the highly successful video game of the same name, the post-apocalyptic series had a lot riding against it. Video game adaptations, for one, are not guaranteed success as tends to be the case for superhero projects. Quite the opposite in fact. In the past, adapting a video game has generally been a recipe for disaster.

In the hands of original creator Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin, however, The Last of Us flouted tradition. For one, the strength of the game was on their side. Druckmann had already created a cinematic story that just happened to be a video game. Set in the aftermath of a worldwide virus, the characters have to survive the Infected as well as fascist regimes that have risen to make order. At the center of it are Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), an unlikely father-daughter duo. Still reeling from the tragic death of his daughter, Joel reluctantly agrees to shepherd an orphan teenager across state lines. As they encounter the horrors of the world, they naturally grow to love each other. But violence is a sick and ugly cycle.

The Last of Us adaptation turned out to be a massive success, in many ways improving upon the game. It was evident from the very beginning that the series would become a juggernaut. On the first night alone, the premiere of the show amassed over 4 million views. More than likely, this would mean it would have eclipsed The Penguin‘s record which was counted after four days. While the DC property may have missed out on the record by a slim margin, there is no doubt that television is back. At least on Max.