What to watch: Let’s be bad with ‘The Penguin’ and ‘Agatha’

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Let the supervillains cook.
It’s time for Batman and the Avengers to take a backseat to the baddies, because “The Penguin” and “Agatha All Along” have taken over streaming with Colin Farrell’s Gotham City gangster and Kathryn Hahn’s Marvel witch leading their own spinoff shows. Even better for us comic-book nerds: They’re both pretty cool! It’s actually a very geeky week when it comes to the best viewing recommendations because there’s also a new “Transformers” movie in theaters – the good news is it’s animated (the best for adventures featuring heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons), and not another iffy live-action take on transforming alien robots.
Now on to the good stuff:
If you were a fan of Burgess Meredith on the old “Batman” show or Danny DeVito in the movie sequel “Batman Returns” – or heck, even Robin Lord Taylor on “Gotham” – get ready for Colin Farrell’s take on the iconic Dark Knight rogue. He appeared as more henchman in the 2022 blockbuster “The Batman” but goes full “The Godfather” in “The Penguin,” which charts his ambitious power play for the Gotham drug trade. It’s my favorite new show of the year, and TV critic Kelly Lawler also digs it, calling the eight-episode limited series “fascinating, if deeply depressing, to watch” in her ★★★ review.
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I talked with Farrell about fleshing out Oz Cobb’s complex personality and how he makes friends as well as enemies, though the Penguin isn’t exactly loyal. “Oz caring for you does not mean that you’re ever fully safe in his company,” the actor says. “He will literally do whatever it takes to get ahead in life.”
One of the best moments of Disney+’s first Marvel show “WandaVision” was the ear-worming musical reveal that Agatha Harkness was the pesky antagonist making life difficult for Vision and Scarlet Witch. Played by Hahn, Agatha was such a delightfully malevolent character that she got her own show: “Agatha All Along” finds her putting together a makeshift coven (including Joe Locke and Patti LuPone) for a trip down the Witches’ Road to get her magical mojo back. It’s a nifty adventure that ventures off the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s beaten path – with lots of wine and spells, plus another memorable tune – though in her ★★ review, Kelly was more mixed: “Buried deep somewhere is a good horror series about Agatha’s journey with real scares and perhaps a mythology that’s understandable.”
Hahn and I also had a chat for a profile piece, where she explained giving Agatha a darkly comic side: “That sense of humor has a lot of freedom in it and a little bit of rage behind it.”
Chris Hemsworth swaps blockbuster franchises and plays another iconic hero as young Optimus Prime in the animated “Transformers One.” A throwback to the ’80s toys and cartoons, the film acts as an excellent origin story for both Autobot leader Optimus and his Decepticon rival Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), harking back to their days as young miners on Cybertron who were best friends and chronicling the quest that turns them against one another.
“Transformers” films haven’t always been the best, if we’re being real, but “One” ranks high in the franchise canon. Peep my updated “Transformers” movie ranking to see how it fares vs. the Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg live-action vehicles and the classic 1986 animated outing.
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email [email protected] and follow me on the socials: I’m @briantruitt on Twitter (not calling it X!), Instagram and Threads.