‘The Penguin’ TV series has been given an adult rating

The Batman spinoff series The Penguin has been given an adult rating.

The Max crime drama series, which is expected to premiere in 2024, stars Colin Farrell as the titular character (aka Oswald Cobblepot), Gotham City’s crime kingpin and one of Batman’s key enemies. The series will pick up after the events of The Batman.

According to LADbible, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given the upcoming DC miniseries an R-rating. It means that the work contains adult material and people aged under 17 must be accompanied by an adult to watch it.

MPA’s highest rating on its system is the NC-17 rating, meaning that only those aged 17 and older can view the material unaccompanied by an adult.

With The Penguin‘s R-rating – and judging by the fact that The Batman had a tamer PG-13 rating, it can be surmised that spinoff will be more gruesome and feature stronger language overall. The Max page for The Penguin has listed the show with a TV-MA rating, which is the small screen equivalent of an R-rating.

The show, which is produced in association with Warner Bros. Television, also stars Clancy Brown, Michael Zegen, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Deirdre O’Connell.

Late last year Farrell shared details about the opening scene of the spinoff. In an interview with ExtraTV, he said: “It starts about a week after The Batman ends, so Gotham is still somewhat underwater.”

He then detailed the very first scene of the series, saying: “I read the first script for the first episode and it opens up with my feet splashing through the water in Falcone’s office. Even just that alone when I read it, I thought, ‘Oh jeeze!’”

“It’s lovely,” he continued. “It’s so well-written. Lauren LeFranc has done an extraordinary job and she’s writing the whole thing and showrunning it. She’s formidable and it’s just a very exciting prospect.”

The first trailer for the series arrived in April – watch it here.