- String of awards makes The Penguin a strong contender
- Beat favorite to a WGA Award
- Colin Farrell hotly tipped for Emmy success
The awards season is heating up. All eyes are on the major ceremonies for hints as to who might dominate at the Emmys in September. One show emerging as a serious contender is the HBO Max limited series, The Penguin. Lauren LaFranc’s spin-off, which begins one week after the events of The Batman (2022), is making waves with nominations and picking up significant wins along the way.
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Unlike traditional superhero spin-offs, The Penguin leans heavily into a crime drama aesthetic. It feels more like a high-budget feature film than a conventional TV show, with striking cinematography and impressive visual effects.
The Penguin is picking up gold
It has just scooped the Best Limited Series Award at the 2025 Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards, highlighting the exceptional writing team behind the show. The victory also cements the show as a major force, beating presumed favorite Ripley.
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Also on the The Penguin’s award shelf is an AFI Award, two Critics Choice Awards and a Best Limited Series Award from the Art Directors Guild Awards. It was also nominated for three DGA Awards, though that time losing to Ripley and a PGA nomination, where it lost to Baby Reindeer.
It looks as though more accolades are due, though. Colin Farrell is the current favorite to win a SAG Award for his remarkable transformation and portrayal as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia Falcone, also has a shot at winning a SAG Award, for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor. Milioti missed out on the award equivalent at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, losing to Jodie Foster.
Facing strong competition
The Penguin is a strong contender for both acting and technical awards, but with the Emmys not until September, new shows still have time to emerge as frontrunners. Netflix has Zero Day and Adolescence on the way. Apple has The Studio and Dope Thief, Hulu has Dying for Sex, and HBO will be releasing Task.
It will also face stiff competition from heavyweights such as The White Lotus, The Last of Us and Slow Horses – all of which are getting significant attention. Shōgun, however – which dominated the 2024 Emmys – still hasn’t released its second season, so will not be competing this year.
But if there’s one category where The Penguin looks poised for success at the Emmys, it’s for Farrell. He’s barely recognizable under layers of prosthetics, as he delivers a menacing yet darkly humorous performance as one of Gotham’s most infamous villains. He earned himself a Golden Globe win earlier this year for Best Performance in a Limited Series. Upon accepting the award he remarked ““I guess it’s prosthetics from here on out”. The Irish actor endures three hours a day in the makeup chair to transform himself.
