PENNYWORTH
Season One You Can Call Him Alfie
RELEASED 22 JUNE 2020 | 18 | Blu-ray/DVD Showrunners Danny Cannon, Bruno Heller Cast Jack Bannon, Emma Paetz, Ben Aldridge, Jason Flemyng
Who’d have guessed that giving Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a show of his own would result in such a demented, “Rule Britannia”howling feast? Bursting with blood, guts and shagging, this riot of a series is set in a brooding, alt–’50s/’60s Britain; one so f***ed-up that criminals are even hung on live TV (including, if you look closely, a certain Jimmy Savile). We meet Jack Bannon’s resourceful Alfred as he embarks upon a Peaky Blinders-style gangland career among London’s back streets.
Once you get used to Bannon’s Michael Caine vocals (and you will, despite first impressions), he’s a magnetic, watchable lead with fantastic support from a glowing cast – particularly Paloma Faith’s psychotic Bet Sykes. After falling in love with Emma Corrin’s underwritten Esme (the show’s only duff note), Alfred teams up with his future employer’s as-yet unmarried parents and all sorts of shenanigans begin… from a coup to overthrow Her Maj to a satanic Aleister Crowley party.
We’re nowhere near Batman territory yet; the writers are having way too much fun referencing such nightmares as The Wicker Man or Rosemary’s Baby. Which means that Pennyworth is, for now, a self-contained mongrel beast – and by jiminy, it’s great. Sure, the violence can be a bit much (some might not make it past episode two), but there are sweet touches too, such as Alfred’s mum asking if he has a hanky when he leaves the house. If you let yourself get swept up in the madness, you’ll love it, right up to the epic final shot.
Extras None.
Florin Court, where Alfie rents an apartment, was also used as the residence of David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot.