"The Penguin" creator Lauren LeFranc on making space for Latinos

• Top crew positions, like hairstyling or the head of makeup, were also held by people of color.

What they're saying: LeFranc says it was important for her, when diving into the fictional city of Gotham in this twisty crime series, to highlight people rarely seen in most comics and graphic novel adaptations.

• "It's just more interesting to me, honestly, to see different characters and meet different people than we've gotten the opportunity to before," she says. "It makes the narrative more colorful and more representative of our world."

That inspired the creation of one of the main characters, Dominican-Mexican teen Victor Aguilar, played by Rhenzy Feliz, who LeFranc says "is the heart of the show."

• In contrast to other leads, Victor comes from a loving family and cares about the people he meets.
• He serves as the audience's guide into the Gotham underbelly when he ends up tragically sucked in.

Between the lines: LeFranc says the show offered an opportunity to dive into why some people look up to certain men in power even when they commit heinous acts.

• "In part it should hold a mirror up to us as an audience. We should be asking ourselves what it is about a person like that that's enticing, why do we follow someone like that?"
• The character Oz Cobb, nicknamed The Penguin because of his gait and played on this show by Colin Farrell, was partly inspired by former Providence, Rhode Island mayor Vincent Cianci, who was accused of several felonies but also championed by people because he revitalized the city.

• "It's true that if you're having trouble keeping a roof over your head and someone comes in to help you, you might overlook what that person did or how they did it," LeFranc says.

What we're watching: Although "The Penguin" was originally set up as a miniseries, LeFranc and the rest of the team behind the show are leaving open the possibility of a second season.

• She points out that even if what's next for her is outside of Batman's world, she's excited to "have room to play, get more Latino representation, always in service of a great story."

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