HBO Max's series Pennyworth caused quite a stir on its debut (on Epix) in 2019. Unafraid to strike out on its own, the series stars Jack Bannon as a wise-cracking, hard-as-nails Alfred Pennyworth, a former soldier with the SAS who starts his own personal security business and runs foul of crime lords -- and fascists -- working out of London's East End.
The mix of post-war gangland London, alternate history, and 1960s glamour -- think The Krays crossed with 1984, with a dash of flyblown Dior and Chanel and a sprinkling of sex scenes thrown in -- with the Batman-verse is highly unusual. It is about as far from the American noir aesthetic of Gotham City as it is possible to get.
But there's no arguing with success, and Pennyworth's unapologetic, high-stakes storytelling has won plaudits as well as a devoted fanbase. Now season 3 is due to air on HBO Max this October, and the season's subtitle -- "The Origin of Batman's Butler" -- has got tongues wagging. Here's what to expect.
Pennyworth Season 3: The Plot
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Pennyworth's version of London is not a nice place. Season 2 began with the United Kingdom in the grip of a civil war, with fascist organization the Raven Union having staged a takeover of the country with the backing of the military, and public executions aired on television. Looming large in the season's narrative was Project Stormcloud, a chemical weapon capable of killing the entire population of London -- the principal holdout against the Union -- while leaving the city's infrastructure intact.
The season ended with the Stormcloud threat averted, but with the Raven Union still ascendant and Alfred's future uncertain.
There's also the small matter of organized crime, oodles of realpolitik, and the Waynes reimagined in this universe as special agents in the pay of the CIA. They are attached to the No Name League, the main resistance to the Raven Union.
Anyone who has watched Gotham -- or, for that matter, Todd Phillips' 2019 take on the origins of Batman's most notorious enemy, Joker -- will know that the keepers of the Batman mythos feel no compulsion to stay within the accepted boundaries of that universe. For the uninitiated, with its spy drama credentials and faded glamour, Pennyworth bears little resemblance to the source material. Such luminaries as the Queen and infamous occultist Aleister Crowley are often portrayed in ways very much at odds with their positions in real life.
It is only at a second glance that the links with the familiar territory of the Bat-family become clear. Aside from the Waynes, Lucius Fox trades in his usual position as Bruce Wayne's right-hand man for a more dynamic scientist-cum-spy persona.
Much of the speculation over the upcoming season has centered on whether we will see Pennyworth finally making the move to America and relocating to Gotham City, particularly given the subtitle, which seems superfluous if the action is set to remain in London. A move during the season to Gotham looks as likely as not, however, given that the season is set five years after the conclusion of the previous season.
Pennyworth Season 3: The Cast
Jack Bannon (The Imitation Game, Endeavour) will return as the titular Alfred Pennyworth. The Waynes are ably played by Ben Aldridge (Fleabag, The Long Call) and Emma Paetz (Gentleman Jack). Aleister Crowley is portrayed by Jonjo O'Neill (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Queen's Gambit), a role in which he clearly enjoys himself, while Jessica Ellerby (Lovesick, Endeavour) plays the Queen.
It is also apparent that veteran character actors Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and Simon Day (The Fast Show, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) have fun with English aristocrat and Cockney geezer roles, respectively. And Lucius Fox is played with verve by Simon Manyonda (Doctor Who, His Dark Materials).
Release Date
Season two of Pennyworth suffered from the ubiquitous pandemic-related delays and only reached the small screen in December 2020. The gestation period for season three has been rather lengthier, and as late as October last year, nothing more concrete than a release date sometime in 2022 was known.
Presently, neither the exact date of the premiere in October nor the method of release -- a sequential rollout or a binge-friendly dump of all ten episodes -- has been announced. HBO Max will have to fit the series into the schedule in such a way as not to steal the thunder from their other big-budget production for the fall, Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon.
With yet another Bat-Verse series, Gotham Knights, concentrating on the Wayne family's inner circle, due to premiere on The CW next year, one thing is certain -- Pennyworth is not likely to be brought to an end any time soon.