Pennyworth

The characters' lines are well written and their silent responses effective in pulling me into the story. Nudity, and graphic violence are somewhat following GoT so there there are people I wouldn't recommend this to, but those depictions are effective in portraying this dystopian alternate England in the grey, dark, world parallel to Batman's Gotham City in the US.

I was expecting a cheesy American episodic series. What I got was A Clockwork Orange meets Gotham with Michael Caine's Alfie in the lead. Very dark and dystopian 60's London. Paloma Faith unexpectedly steals the show. I didn't even know she could act! Not episodic so recommend binge watching. Really draws you in to the very dark story.

I enjoyed Pennyworth a lot more than I expected I would. A show based off Batman's butler didn't really seem that exciting but I couldn't have been more wrong. This isn't Alfred the butler, this is Alfred the soldier/spy. The cast all do a great job, especially Jack Bannon who plays Alfred. He just makes Alfred so damn likable. It has the look and feel of a good 60's spy series. Everything from the cinematography to the wardrobe. They are now on season 3 and each season has been just as entertaining as the others. I'm glad HBO Max picked this up so it's available to a larger audience because this show deserves it.

I just wanted some background TV while my attention was diverted amongst other activities. Didn't take long to stop what I was doing and get right into this. Recent DC shows have been pure garbage, whilst this is closer to Gotham in its Elseworld-ish quirky grimness. But less quirky, even with inclusions of Jack Ripper, Aleister Crowley and the Queen. Excellent production all-round, stand-out performance from Paloma Faith playing a woman who's a wee bit mad. If I was aware they'd do the left vs right political dynamic throughout season 1 I wouldn't have watched it, but surprisingly it was done well. The only problem is I now have high exceptions of season 2.

Pennyworth is a pretty cool little show that's absolutely worth watching. I wasn't really sure what to expect since it's based off Alfred Pennyworth (Batman's Butler) who's a former British SAS officer who forms a security company in 1969's London. It also takes place in a London war that never happened. It may take a few episodes to really get into it but if you can stick with through those first few episodes you'll find yourself really enjoying the show. I know some people didn't like it be it was too violent and had too much swearing but this is a show for adults. The cast is made of up of mostly unknown actors but they all do such a great job that you'll become attached to their characters before you know it. I was a fan of both seasons and can't wait for more! It's now moving to HBO Max for further seasons.