Pennyworth

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO Max
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 28, 2019
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 39
  3. Negative: 10 out of 39
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User Reviews

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  1. Skeletor71
    Aug 4, 2019
    9
    I really don't get all the negative scores. This show is just excellent! The atmosphere and characters are amazing and I was really blown away by how good the first episode was. Just give it a go.
  2. acricketer
    Aug 12, 2019
    10
    Clearly most comments are from non British individuals who are just out of diapers.

    The show is superb in its' fusion of 60's London, SAS hegemony and dystopian backdrops. The characters are fantastic live cartoons who make you smile and laugh and cheer or boo.

    Go with it and enjoy the ride.

    PS. Lovely nod to Michael Caine
  3. Bigguy00
    Aug 31, 2019
    9
    Like Gotham it has the same writer and features bizarre villains. It has more twists & turns than a mountain roads. You can never be certain what will happen next. If you liked Gotham you’ll enjoy following this. It’s deliciously dark. I bought EPIX just for this show. It’s that good.
  4. hitzestau
    Jan 5, 2020
    8
    Wow, it’s a prequel and the producers actually manage to not screw up everything that has already been established. Well it is certainly a long way from the young ex-soldier Alfred to the distinguished butler we all love when he works for Bruce in Gotham. But the series is strong enough to tell a story of its own, with several factions within the UK that battle for political leadership.Wow, it’s a prequel and the producers actually manage to not screw up everything that has already been established. Well it is certainly a long way from the young ex-soldier Alfred to the distinguished butler we all love when he works for Bruce in Gotham. But the series is strong enough to tell a story of its own, with several factions within the UK that battle for political leadership. Alfie is caught up in the middle of it. The style of the show is exquisite, in some scenes, strange things just happen or walk by the camera without any explanation given. The story is set in the 1960’s in London and the filming locations look really great. The characters, the actors (and the dialects they speak) also make the show worthwhile. I’am looking forward to getting to know this Alfred Pennyworth better.… Expand
  5. gray44
    Mar 20, 2021
    3
    I still think this show can be entertaining the stopping after 4 episodes in the second season was stupid. Troll they stopped before the pandemic and the episodes you are now watching were also filmed before the pandemic. The problem you have those who have never seen the show are going to think Alfred is a douchebag and those who have seen all of the episodes are wondering was he alwaysI still think this show can be entertaining the stopping after 4 episodes in the second season was stupid. Troll they stopped before the pandemic and the episodes you are now watching were also filmed before the pandemic. The problem you have those who have never seen the show are going to think Alfred is a douchebag and those who have seen all of the episodes are wondering was he always this big of and ass ? Did they forget who this guy becomes in his old age ? No one changes that dramatically over time. They can have him be tough and smart but having him be and ass to friends and women no they is just lazy and bad writing. One does not become a gentleman in his 60's and 70's if he wasn't one his whole life up to that and its not believable. I know this is all fiction but no woman in that time period walked around like Martha does it would not be accepted in the U.K. at that time. It would take years before that was even accepted in America all i am saying if you are going to take liberties make them believable stop worrying about being P/C That is why Game of Thrones was a hit they had powerful women but they wrote story lines that made them believable. They didn't do things just to be P/C because if they had the show would NOT have been a hit. I am hoping the writing gets better and the well there is no way to put it the pure stupidity of some of these storylines goes away and you could end up with a hit if not maybe one more season as the viewers drop the show will go off the air.… Expand
  6. MarshallCavalli
    Aug 15, 2019
    3
    Great concept, but a failed execution. Alfred Pennyworth as a spy show like "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" could have been an awesome show on DC's streaming service but the plots are very generic and aren't really memorable as those type of shows.
  7. JohnMCouch
    Oct 14, 2019
    10
    Really enjoyed this, good plot, seemed to lose track a bit, but i the end pulled it together.
  8. geewah
    Jan 9, 2021
    6
    A great concept for an entertaining show but this series falls short. Has the style, just needs a stronger story.
    Still think there is a good story to be told

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Most Discussed TV Season of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Mike Hale
    Jul 29, 2019
    50
    [Jack Bannon] is a charming, resourceful and alert performer, and his Alfred — with an aggressively pompadoured widow’s peak that embodies the nervous energy of a generation — is a consistently engaging presence at the center of the series. Bannon is well matched by Emma Corrin as Esme ... Rather than amplifying or enriching each other, the straight-ahead drama and the comic contrivances cancel each other out. It’s harder to take either one seriously in the presence of the other.
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  2. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Jul 26, 2019
    60
    “Pennyworth” is kind of fascinating in that it looks good, the performances are solid, the design is strong … and I just never found a reason to care. Like so much modern TV, every episode is too long, and the slack pacing doesn't help an already slow writing sensibility. There's nothing overly wrong with "Pennyworth," except it never quite justifies its existence.
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  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    Jul 26, 2019
    60
    The stories are fairly thin, but the look of the show and the charisma of Bannon and some of the supporting players — notably the English singer Paloma Faith as Bet Sykes, a Raven Society enforcer who takes a quick dislike to both Alfred and Esme — cover for that for a while.
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