Heather Fallon: The Penguin (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

What happens when you combine the gruelling essence of Tony Soprano with caped crusaders and a city that genuinely feels like it has been cursed by an evil spirit? Well, grab Colin Farrell and coat him in more prosthetics than you can shake a stick at, because what you’ll get is an absolute masterclass in TV drama.

The Batman universe is well trodden IP, and when I heard about the show, I must admit I let out a little sigh of ‘oh? Another spin-off? Great…’ but this is a fully realised gangster drama all by itself, with a surprising amount of nuance which not only pays homage to its source material but pushes it to new places to give the famous villain a new lease of life.

One moment you’re rooting for a downtrodden rogue and the next you utterly loathe the sly (and in the final episode downright creepy) Oswald Cobb. You really do have to pinch yourself to remember it’s Farrell under all that make-up and what makes the ride even more thrilling is the powerhouse performance from co-star Cristin Miloti’s portrayal of Sofia Falcone. Their scenes together especially are what makes this series absolutely remarkable.

You know a show is good when you catch yourself watching YouTube breakdowns afterwards. Oswald, you better get your comeuppance in 2026 when the next Batman film comes out…

On this side of the pond I also have to shout out Curve Media’s incredible doc On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace. The footage they manage to capture in this is unbelievable, and the phone covered by a dish cloth? Incredible.

• Heather Fallon is a reporter, Broadcast