Where is HBO’s The Penguin Filmed?

of Where is HBO’s The Penguin Filmed? Sartaj Singh
September 19, 2024

Based on the eponymous DC Comics character, HBO’s ‘The Penguin’ picks up from the events of the 2022 film, ‘The Batman,’ and follows the Penguin as he strategizes to reach the top of Gotham’s ruthless criminal world. Motivated to provide a better life for his mother and capture more power after the death of his boss, Oz Cobb faces Sofia Falcone, the psychopathic daughter of Carmine Falcone. Created by Lauren LeFranc, the fantasy crime drama transports us to the glimmering nightscape of the iconic Gotham City. Cobb’s exploits contrast the reality of the gritty streets he hails from with his aspirations of luxury in upscale settings, elevating the narrative as it reflects the Penguin’s broken past and gives context to his evolving villainy.

The Penguin Filming Locations

‘The Penguin’ is filmed in New York City, New York, and Los Angeles, California. Principal photography for the show began on March 1, 2023, under the working title ‘Boss,’ and was paused in May due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Filming on the debut season resumed in November 2023 and wrapped by February 17, 2024. The series makes use of advanced makeup and prosthetics, and it took four hours to transform Colin Farrell into the Penguin before each shoot of the first season. After filming had concluded, Farrell shared that he enjoyed playing the nuanced character but was looking forward to not spending hours sitting in a makeup chair.

Farrell also remained in character between takes, maintaining the physicality, speech pattern, and even the limp of Oz, creating an unnerving experience for the cast and crew at times. “I spent a year with Oz. I wouldn’t really see Colin out of makeup,” said actress Cristin Milioti in an interview. “I think I’ve seen Colin out of makeup three times, and it was all in pre-production. It’s very strange when I hear his voice. It really flips me out, and certainly when I see him in his real form because I associate those eyes and that voice with someone who I spent a year with, who is not real but feels like a person I know better.”

New York City, New York

‘The Penguin’ is primarily filmed in New York City, New York, which is also considered the real-life inspiration for DC’s Gotham city as it was satirically nicknamed Gotham in the 19th century. Filming is carried out both on location and using sets created at the Silvercup Studios North. Located at 295 Locust Avenue, Bronx, the studio is one of the largest of its kind in NYC, with the north lot featuring four soundstages ranging from 8,030 to 16,220 square feet. Many of the interior sets and action set pieces for the debut season were built using the sound stages and logistical support of the lot. Other similar projects shot in the studio include ‘The Sopranos,’ Netflix’s ‘You,’ ‘The Deuce,’ and ‘Public Morals.’

In addition, sequences for season 1 were filmed in the urban backdrops of Brooklyn, Long Island, Westchester County, and at a church in Harlem, Manhattan. Filming in NYC allowed the show to embrace the dark, towering architecture and shadowy alleyways that mirror Gotham’s oppressive atmosphere. The city’s rugged environments, such as its industrial zones and rundown neighborhoods, are created with a merging of selective modern-day NYC locales and constructed sets, making Gotham feel like a lived-in, tangible place. “We worked with NYC Film Office and Film Yonkers, and we worked with so many local vendors,” wrote production designer Kalina Ivanov in a statement. “We’re very much involved with trying to help the economy of New York.”

Carmine’s mansion is actually the La Selva in Upper Brookville on Long Island. The Mediterranean villa sits on a twenty-five-acre estate and reflects the refined taste of the wealthy criminal family.  The crew also shot inside the property, making use of the interiors like the greenhouse, corridors, and basement. The Hawksmoor NYC steakhouse stands in for the St Augustine restaurant where Sofia and Oz meet over lunch. Located at 109 East 22nd Street, Hawksmoor NYC is an award-winning establishment housed in the United Charities Building. The creatives wanted to employ the history of New York to create a new and dark Gotham. To this end, they shot segments of the poverty-stricken and clustered parts of the fictional city in South Bronx, Chinatown, and Yonkers.

The entrance to the nightclub owned by the Penguin was recreated around 138th Street under the West Side Highway. The diamond district seen in the show is recreated at 27th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, where the production team built their own jewelry store. Movies and shows featuring the iconic NYC landscapes as their filming location are ‘Joker,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ Netflix’s ‘Daredevil,’ and Fox’s ‘Gotham.’

Los Angeles, California

The city of Angels in California also reportedly serves as a filming location for ‘The Penguin,’ complementing the work done in New York City. Warner Bros. was reported to have prioritized the project when filming was paused during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and their significant resources in LA may have been employed to keep the production on schedule.

Colin Farrell’s makeup test was also carried out in Los Angeles by ten makeup and prosthetic artists, as his home is in the city. He also shared an incident of walking into a public restaurant to test out the look while staying in character, revealing that no one seemed to recognize him, although he received a number of stares. Similar projects shot in Los Angeles include ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ ‘The Crow,’ and ‘The Dark Knight.’

Read More: Where Was The Batman Filmed?

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