''Peaky Blinders'' is a British
period crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
television series created by
Steven Knight
Steven Knight (born 5 August 1959) is a British screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. He wrote the screenplays for the films ''Closed Circuit (2013 film), Closed Circuit'', ''Dirty Pretty Things (film), Dirty Pretty Thi ...
. Set in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, it follows the exploits of the Peaky Blinders crime gang in the direct aftermath of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The fictional gang is loosely based on
a real urban youth gang active in the city from the 1880s to the 1920s.
The series features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to the po ...
led by
Cillian Murphy, starring as
Tommy Shelby,
Helen McCrory as Elizabeth "Polly" Gray,
Paul Anderson as
Arthur Shelby,
Sophie Rundle as Ada Shelby, and
Joe Cole as John Shelby, the gang's senior members.
Sam Neill,
Annabelle Wallis,
Iddo Goldberg,
Tom Hardy,
Charlotte Riley,
Finn Cole,
Natasha O'Keeffe,
Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...
,
Adrien Brody,
Aidan Gillen,
Anya Taylor-Joy,
Sam Claflin,
Amber Anderson,
James Frecheville, and
Stephen Graham appeared across multiple episode of the series. The series premiered on 12 September 2013 and was broadcast on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
until the fourth series (with repeats on
BBC Four), after which it moved to
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
for the fifth and sixth series.
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
, under a deal with
Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and film distribution, distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob Weinstein, Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10 ...
and
Endemol, acquired the rights to release the show in the United States and around the world. In January 2021, it was announced that the sixth series, released in 2022, would be the final series. A feature-length film titled ''
The Immortal Man'', which is set a few years after the series finale, began filming in September 2024 and will be distributed by Netflix.
Overview
''Peaky Blinders'' is a crime drama centred on a family of mixed
Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...
and
Romani origins based in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England, starting in 1919, several months after the end of the First World War. It centres on the
Peaky Blinders street gang and their ambitious, cunning
crime boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
Tommy Shelby. The gang comes to the attention of
Major Chester Campbell, a
detective chief inspector in the
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...
sent by
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
from
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, where he had been sent to clean up the city of the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
flying columns, the
Communist Party of Great Britain, street gangs, and common criminals. Winston Churchill (played by
Andy Nyman in series 1 and
Richard McCabe in series 2) charges him with suppressing disorder and uprising in Birmingham and recovering a stolen cache of arms and ammunition meant to be shipped to
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
. The first series concludes on 3 December 1919—"Black Star Day", the event where the Peaky Blinders plan to take over Billy Kimber's betting pitches at the
Worcester Races.
The second series has the Peaky Blinders expand their criminal organisation in the "South and North while maintaining a stronghold in their Birmingham heartland".
It begins in 1921 and ends with a climax at
Epsom racecourse on 31 May 1922,
Derby Day.
The third series takes place in 1924, following Tommy and the gang as they enter an even more dangerous world by expanding once again, this time internationally. The third series also features Father John Hughes (
Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...
), who is involved in an
anti-communist organization; Ruben Oliver (
Alexander Siddig), a painter whom Polly enlists to paint her portrait; Russian Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna (
Gaite Jansen); and Linda Shelby (
Kate Phillips), the new wife of Arthur.
The fourth series begins on
Christmas Eve 1925, with the Peaky Blinders getting word that the
New York Mafia, led by Luca Changretta (
Adrien Brody), is coming to avenge the murder of his father, committed the previous series and ends following the
general strike of May 1926, with Tommy using communist leader
Jessie Eden for information and being elected as a
Member of Parliament in 1927.
The fifth series runs two years later, from 29 October 1929 (
Black Tuesday) to 7 December 1929, the morning after a rally led by
Sir Oswald Mosley.
The sixth series begins on 5 December 1933, as
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
is repealed in the United States. The
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
has obtained power in Germany, leading to a growth in membership of Mosley's
British Union of Fascists. Tommy must not only deal with Mosley but also with plots from the
Irish Mob as well as the
Anti-Treaty IRA.
Cast
Main characters
*
Cillian Murphy as
Thomas "Tommy" Shelby, the leader of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Sam Neill as Chief Inspector/Major Chester Campbell (series 1–2), an
Ulster Protestant policeman drafted from Belfast.
*
Helen McCrory as Elizabeth Pollyanna "Polly" Gray (series 1–5), née Shelby, the aunt of the Shelby siblings, and treasurer of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Paul Anderson as
Arthur Shelby Jr., Tommy's best friend and eldest of the Shelby siblings.
*
Annabelle Wallis as Grace Shelby (series 1–3, 5), née Burgess, a former undercover agent, and Irish Protestant. She is Tommy's first wife and mother of his son Charles.
*
Iddo Goldberg as Freddie Thorne (series 1), a known
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
who fought in the Great War with Tommy and was Ada's husband.
*
Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne, née Shelby, the only sister of the Shelby brothers.
*
Joe Cole as John "Johnny" Shelby (series 1–4), the third-youngest Shelby brother and a member of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Ned Dennehy as Charlie Strong, owner of a boatyard and an uncle figure to the Shelby siblings.
*
Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah 'Jimmy' Jesus, a preacher, and friend of the Peaky Blinders.
*
David Dawson as Roberts (series 1), Billy Kimber's accountant.
*
Andy Nyman (series 1),
Richard McCabe (recurring series 2), and
Neil Maskell
Neil Maskell (born 1976) is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films. His credits include '' Nil by Mouth'' (1997), '' The Football Factory'' (2004), '' Rise of the Footsoldier'' ( ...
(series 5–6) as
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
*
Charlie Creed-Miles as
Billy Kimber (series 1), a local kingpin and leader of The Birmingham Boys who runs the local races.
*
Tommy Flanagan as Arthur Shelby Sr. (series 1), the father of the Shelby siblings and Polly's brother.
*
Noah Taylor as
Darby Sabini (series 2), the leader of an
Italian gang in
Camden Town
Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London.
Laid out as a residential distri ...
.
*
Tom Hardy as
Alfred "Alfie" Solomons (series 2–6), the leader of a Jewish gang in Camden Town.
*
Charlotte Riley as May Fitz Carleton (series 2, 4), a wealthy widow who owns racehorses.
*
Finn Cole as Michael Gray (series 2–6), Polly's biological son.
*
Natasha O'Keeffe as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Shelby, née Stark (series 2–6; guest series 1), an ex-prostitute who worked for Tommy as his secretary. She is his second wife and the mother of his daughter Ruby.
*
Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Esme Shelby-Lee (series 3–4, 6; recurring series 1–2), John's wife and a member of the Lee clan.
*
Gaite Jansen as Princess Tatiana Petrovna (series 3), a Russian princess who has an affair with Tommy.
*
Alexander Siddig as Ruben Oliver (series 3), a portrait artist in a romantic relationship with Polly.
*
Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs (series 3–6; recurring series 1–2), Tommy's
Gypsy friend.
* Jan Bijvoet as Arch Duke Leon Romanov (series 3), Tatiana's uncle.
*
Dina Korzun as Grand Duchess Izabella Petrovna (series 3), Tatiana's aunt.
*
Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...
as Father John Hughes (series 3), a priest working with the anti-communist Section D (the
Economic League) in the British government
*
Kate Phillips as Linda Shelby (series 4–6; recurring series 3), Arthur's wife who is a devout Christian.
*
Charlie Murphy as
Jessie Eden (series 4–5), a
union convenor and Tommy's lover.
*
Adrien Brody as Luca Changretta (series 4), a
New York mafioso with a vendetta against the Peaky Blinders.
* Ian Peck as Curly (series 4–6; recurring series 1–3), a horse expert and Charlie's assistant.
*
Jack Rowan as Bonnie Gold (series 4–5), Aberama's boxing champion son.
*
Aidan Gillen as Aberama Gold (series 4–5), an ally of the Peaky Blinders and Polly's lover.
*
Anya Taylor-Joy as Gina Gray (series 5–6), Michael's American wife.
*
Kingsley Ben-Adir as Colonel Ben Younger (series 5; guest series 4), a young colonel who begins a relationship with Ada. He is also investigating socialist and fascist political activities.
*
Sam Claflin as
Sir Oswald Mosley (series 5–6), a
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
politician and leader of the
British Union of Fascists.
*
Brian Gleeson as Jimmy McCavern (series 5), the leader of the Billy Boys, a Glaswegian Protestant gang.
*
Kate Dickie as Mother Superior (series 5), the head of a group of nuns.
*
Andrew Koji as
Brilliant Chang (series 5), a Chinese criminal leader involved in
opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
smuggling.
*
Cosmo Jarvis as Barney Thomason (series 5), a WWI sniper who was Tommy's comrade and old friend who is locked in an insane asylum.
* Alfie Evans-Meese (recurring series 1) and Harry Kirton (series 6; recurring series 2–5) as Finn Shelby, the youngest Shelby brother and a member of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Charlene McKenna as Laura McKee/ Captain Swing (series 6; guest series 5), an
IRA leader from Belfast.
*
Pauline Turner as Frances (series 6; recurring series 4–5), Tommy's housekeeper.
*
Amber Anderson as
Lady Diana Mitford (series 6), Mosley's second wife, one of the aristocratic
Mitford sisters and a Fascist socialite.
*
James Frecheville as Jack Nelson (series 6), a south
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
gang leader, Gina's uncle and Michael's boss in the United States. Nelson is based on
Joseph Kennedy Sr.
*
Stephen Graham as Hayden Stagg (series 6), the union convenor for the workers at the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
docks.
*
Conrad Khan as Erasmus "Duke" Shelby (series 6), Tommy's first-born son from before the Great War.
*
Jordan Bolger (recurring series 2–4) and
Daryl McCormack (series 6; recurring series 5) as Isiah Jesus, Jeremiah's son and a member of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Emmett J. Scanlan as Billy Grade (series 6; recurring series 5), an ex-footballer turned singer and an ally to the Peaky Blinders.
Recurring
*
Lobo Chan as Mr. Zhang (series 1), a business owner in Chinatown.
*
Neil Bell (series 1) as Harry Fenton, a former landlord and owner of the Garrison pub.
*
Samuel Edward-Cook as Danny "Whizz-Bang" Owen (series 1), Tommy's former comrade and a loyal member of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Tony Pitts
Anthony Pitts (born 10 October 1962) is an English actor, most notable for playing Archie Brooks in the long-running British soap '' Emmerdale Farm'' between 1983 and 1993.
Early life
Pitts was born in Sheffield, England. His family was wo ...
as Sergeant/Inspector Moss (series 1–4), a police officer from Birmingham.
* Kevin Metcalfe as Scudboat (series 1–2), a henchman of the Peaky Blinders.
* Jeffrey Postlethwaite as Henry (series 1–2), a Peaky Blinders henchman.
* Matthew Postlethwaite as Nipper (series 1–2), a Peaky Blinders henchman.
*
Simone Kirby as Irene O'Donnell (series 2), a Pro-Treaty IRA member, who works with Donal Henry and Inspector Campbell to blackmail Tommy into carrying out an assassination.
*
Rory Keenan as Donal Henry (series 2), a spy who worked for the Irregulars against the Pro-Treaty IRA.
* Adam El Hagar as Ollie (series 2), Alfie's assistant.
*
Sam Hazeldine as Georgie Sewell (series 2), the right-hand man and consiglieri to Sabini.
*
Wanda Opalinska as Rosemary Johnson (series 2, 4), Michael's foster mother, whom she named Henry.
* Daniel Fearn as King Maine (series 2, 4), a boxing trainer in Birmingham who trains Arthur and Bonnie.
* Paul Bullion as Billy Kitchen (series 2), a Black Countryman, who briefly worked as a Head Baker for Tommy and Alfie.
*
Josh O'Connor as James (series 2), Ada's friend and housemate.
*
Dorian Lough as Mario (series 2), the owner of The Eden Club, ran by Sabini.
* Allan Hopwood as Abbey Heath (series 2)
* James Eeles as "The
Digbeth Kid" Harold Hancox (series 2), an aspiring actor hired by the Peaky Blinders to get stood up and spend a week inside jail, only to be killed by Sabini's henchmen.
* Erin Shanagher as Mrs. Ross (series 2, 4), a vengeful mother who hates Arthur for the death of her son.
* George Gwyther (series 3) and Callum Booth-Ford (series 5–6) as Karl Thorne, the only child of Ada and Freddie.
*
Stephanie Hyam as Charlotte Murray (series 3), a wealthy girl, with whom Michael has a short affair.
*
Kenneth Colley as Vicente Changretta (series 3), the father to Changretta and his brother Angel.
*
Bríd Brennan as Audrey Changretta (series 3–4), Changretta's mother, wife of Vicente Changretta, head of the Italian crime family in Birmingham, the enemy of the Peaky Blinders.
*
Frances Tomelty as Bethany Boswell (series 3), a wise old woman living in Wales, whom Tommy seeks out.
*
Richard Brake as Anton Kaledin (series 3), a Russian refugee, who attempted to discuss business with Sabini and Tommy on Tommy and Grace's wedding day.
*
Alex Macqueen as Patrick Jarvis MP (series 3), a Member of Parliament and a member and representative of the Economic League, working with Father Hughes
*
Ralph Ineson as Connor Nutley (series 3), a Lancaster factory foreman.
*
Peter Bankole as William Letso (series 3), a former diamond miner and tunneler from the South African Labor Corps and Tommy's friend.
*
Richard Dillane as General Curran (series 3), Grace's uncle.
*
Dominic Coleman as Priest (series 3)
* Wendy Nottingham as Mary (series 3), Tommy's housekeeper.
* Billy Marwood (series 3), Jenson Clarke (series 4–5), and Billy Jenkins (series 6) as Charles Shelby, the son of Tommy and Grace.
* Luca Matteo Zizzari as Matteo (series 4), one of Changretta's henchmen.
* Jake J. Meniani as Frederico (series 4), one of Changretta's henchmen.
*
Graeme Hawley as Niall Devlin (series 4), a working man in the Peaky Blinders Limited, working for Tommy.
*
Donald Sumpter as
Arthur Bigge (series 4), the King's Private Secretary, who deals with the case of the execution of Polly, Arthur, John and Michael.
*
Jamie Kenna as Billy Mills (series 4), a former heavyweight boxing champion and a worker for the Shelby Company Limited, who fights against Bonnie at the company.
* Joseph Long as Chef (series 4)
*
Andreas Muñoz as Antonio (series 4), the Italian assassin who came into Tommy's house as a sous-chef and planned to kill Tommy.
* Ethan Picard-Edwards as Billy Shelby (series 4), the son of Arthur and Linda.
* Dave Simon as Mulchay (series 4–5)
* Heaven-Leigh Clee (series 5) and Orla McDonagh (series 6) as Ruby Shelby, the daughter of Tommy and Lizzie.
*
Elliot Cowan as Michael Levitt (series 5), a Birmingham journalist.
*
Peter Campion as Micky Gibbs (series 5), barman of The Garrison pub.
*
Tim Woodward as Lord Suckerby (series 5), a High Court Judge.
* Darragh O'Toole as Liam (series 6), an associate of Jack Nelson's.
*
Peter Coonan as Connor Dunn (series 6), an associate of Jack Nelson's.
*
Assaad Bouab as Henri (series 6), a bartender on
Miquelon Island.
* Franc Bruneau as Miquelon Island Police Commissioner (series 6), Head of Police Department on Miquelon Island.
* Simon Wan as Han (series 6), an opium dealer who operates through a cafe in Birmingham's
Chinatown.
*
Naomi Yang as Li (series 6), Han's wife.
*
Aneurin Barnard as Doctor Holford (series 6), Tommy's personal doctor.
*
Abbie Hern as Mary Bone (series 6), Finn's wife.
Episodes
Production

''Peaky Blinders'' was created and written by
Steven Knight
Steven Knight (born 5 August 1959) is a British screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. He wrote the screenplays for the films ''Closed Circuit (2013 film), Closed Circuit'', ''Dirty Pretty Things (film), Dirty Pretty Thi ...
.
Screen Yorkshire provided funding for the production through the Yorkshire Content Fund, ensuring that the majority of the show was filmed in Yorkshire as part of the deal. Linguists were not hired in the production to assist in the show, leading to the Romani Gypsies in the earlier series frequently speaking broken
Romanian (as opposed to
Romani).
Series 1
The first series was filmed in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
Dudley
Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...
,
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, and
Port Sunlight. Railway sequences were filmed between
Keighley and
Damems, using carriages from the Ingrow
Museum of Rail Travel (owned by Vintage Carriages Trust), and carriages owned by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust. Many of the scenes for the show were filmed at the
Black Country Living Museum. Steven Knight, Stephen Russell and Toby Finlay all had writing credits on the series.
Ulster-born, New Zealand-raised Sam Neill enlisted the help of Northern Irish actors
James Nesbitt and
Liam Neeson to help him recover his lost Northern Irish accent for the role of C.I. Campbell. In the end, he had to tone down the accent since the series was marketed in the United States.
Series 2
A second series was commissioned shortly after the broadcast of the first and aired in October and November 2014.
On 11 January 2014, auditions were held in Digbeth area of Birmingham (near where parts of the series are set) for white and mixed race teenage male extras, resulting in lengthy queues.
Series 3
Shortly after the final episode of the second series, the show announced via its Twitter account that it had been renewed for a third series. On 5 October 2015, the official ''Peaky Blinders'' Twitter account announced that filming had begun for series 3. Filming completed on 22 January 2016, after 78 days of shooting.
Series 4
During the initial broadcast of series 3, the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
renewed ''Peaky Blinders'' for series 4 and 5, each of which comprises six episodes.
Filming for series 4 started in March 2017 and premiered on 15 November 2017 on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
.
Both
The Weinstein Company and its logo in its credits weren't included, even though the company was formerly involved in the US distribution of the series.
Series 5
The BBC commissioned a fifth series in mid-2016. On 22 August 2018, it was confirmed that series 5 would be broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. Having already premiered to a select audience at Birmingham Town Hall on 18 July 2019, the series began airing on BBC One on 25 August 2019.
Series 6
On 5 May 2018, Steven Knight told ''
Birmingham Press Club'' that "we are definitely doing
eriessix". Production on the series was due to begin in March 2020, but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
During 2020, rumours emerged linking comedian
Rowan Atkinson to the show for the role of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
in series 6, but the producers denied the involvement saying that the news is "completely false".
On 18 January 2021, it was announced that series six, which had just begun filming, would be the final television series of ''Peaky Blinders''; though Knight revealed "the story will continue in another form".
Helen McCrory, who played the character of Polly Gray, died in April 2021, thus unable to film any scenes for the series.
Series six premiered on 27 February 2022.
Film
Following the announcement that the sixth series would be the last, Knight clarified that, following the year-long production hiatus in 2020, it had been decided to produce a feature-length movie in place of a seventh television series, with other connected television series potentially following. ''Peaky Blinders'' won the Returning Drama award at the
2022 National Television Awards ceremony, with Knight subsequently confirming during his acceptance speech that that film would begin production in mid-spring 2023, but would later be delayed. In June 2024, the ''Peaky Blinder's'' film was confirmed by
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
with Cillian Murphy reprising his role as Thomas Shelby. Production began in September 2024 under the title ''The Immortal Man''.
Reception
Throughout its run, ''Peaky Blinders'' received widespread critical acclaim. David Renshaw of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' summarised the series as a "riveting, fast-paced tale of post-first world war Birmingham gangsters", praising Murphy as the "ever-so-cool Tommy Shelby" and the rest of the cast for their "powerful performances". Sarah Compton of ''
The Telegraph'' gave the series four out of five, praising the show for its originality and "taking all of our expectations and confounding them". Alex Fletcher from
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
believes that "''Peaky Blinders'' has started as sharp as a dart", while ''
Den of Geek'' called the series "the most intelligent, stylish and engrossing BBC drama in ages". Cult TV Times critic Hugh David said the show "warrants the billing" by "managing to tick several ratings boxesperiod drama, gangster epic, film star leadsyet go against the grain of those in the most interesting of ways".
The show has been particularly celebrated for its stylish cinematography and charismatic performances, as well as for casting an eye over a part of England and English history rarely explored on television. Historians have been divided over whether bringing characters and events from other decades into a 1920s story undermines claims to historical accuracy, or whether working-class life in the period is nevertheless depicted in a truthful and resonant way. Reviews of the second series remained positive, with Ellen E. Jones of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' commenting that "''Peaky Blinders'' can now boast several more big-name actors to supplement the sterling work of Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Sam Neill", referring to second series additions Tom Hardy and Noah Taylor.
Several critics have compared the show favourably to the American series ''
Boardwalk Empire'', which shares the same themes and historical context. Show writer Steven Knight stated in an early interview: "Do you know – and I'm not just saying this – but I've never watched them. I've never seen ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
'', I've never seen ''Boardwalk Empire'', I've never seen any of them." When asked if he deliberately avoided watching those shows, he responded: "It's sort of deliberate in that I don't really want to be looking at other people's work because it does affect what you do inevitably." On 2 March 2016, Knight told the ''Crime Scene Quarterly'' "I've had unsolicited communication from
Michael Mann, the film director, from
Dennis Lehane,
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
he's such a fan. And the late
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
was a huge fanmore of that to come" (strongly hinting Bowie's involvement on series three). It was later confirmed that Bowie's music would be featured, and
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
had also written a new song for series three.
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on seven reviews.
The last season holds a 93% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
based on 14 reviews, with an average critic rating of eight out of ten. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Peaky Blinders'' sixth series gracefully addresses the untimely passing of star Helen McCrory while setting the stage for a fitting climax to this epic saga of likable scalawags."
Depiction of Jessie Eden
Series four introduced the character
Jessie Eden, based on the real-life
British communist and trade union leader. Although the reception was mixed, some people who had known Jessie Eden took offence to the way she was depicted.
Graham Stevenson, a trade union leader and writer on British communism, a friend of Jessie Eden and the writer of her biography, was a harsh critic of the show,
Stevenson also criticised the show for its clothing choices, incorrectly showing Churchill as Home Secretary in 1919, incorrectly depicting Eden as a mass leader during the 1926 General Strike; eventually these inaccuracies led Stevenson to stop watching the show. He went on to say "Although the TV series' cinematography, music and fast-paced action is obviously attractive, especially matched to outstanding charismatic performances, it's disappointing that an expert in Tudor history was the historical adviser to the series, rather than someone with a background in trade unionism or communism".
At a round table event featuring Stevenson, the poet Dave Puller, and cultural historian Paul Long, the three discussed the series and its depictions of the British working class. Long rated the series positively and praised the series as a great representation of interesting working-class protagonists. Puller had mixed feelings and was disappointed that the show chose to focus on Jessie Eden's fictional romance with Tommy, rather than her real achievements as a communist and a trade union leader.
Awards and nominations
Broadcast and release
On 24 September 2014, it was announced that
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
had acquired exclusive US distribution rights from the Weinstein Company and
Endemol. The entirety of series 1 became available for streaming on 30 September 2014; series 2 launched in November 2014. Series 3 was made available 31 May 2016. Due to licensing restrictions, however, most of the show's original soundtrack is not available on the Netflix-distributed version of the series. In 2018, it was announced ''Peaky Blinders'' would be moved from its original broadcast channel, BBC Two, to BBC One for its fifth and sixth series.
Cultural impact
According to the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible fo ...
(ONS), ''Peaky Blinders'' has had a detectable cultural impact in the UK. In 2018, the name Arthur surged into the top 10 boys names for the first time since the 1920s, and Ada jumped into the girls' top 100 for the first time in a century as well. The assumption reached by the ONS is that the popularity of these names was inspired by the characters Arthur Shelby Jr. and Ada Thorne.
5 December 2024 soldiers of the
National Guard of Ukraine from the "Peaky Blinders" unit received gifts from the series' creators of the same name. ''"The legendary National Guard unit "Peaky Blinders" from Kharkiv now has actual caps from Stephen Knight, the scriptwriter of the cult series of the same name, with the autograph of the main character, Cillian Murphy"'.''
In 2024
Birmingham Airport leased out a retail unit that is named ''Shelby & Co. Bar + Kitchen'' in homage to the show. The outlet, which offers dishes such as sometimes named after characters from the show, is located in the departures lounge.
Video games
In August 2020, a
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
based on the television series, titled ''Peaky Blinders: Mastermind'', was developed by FuturLab and released for
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
,
PlayStation 4,
Nintendo Switch
The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
, and for
PC via
Steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
. A
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
game, ''Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom'', was developed by Maze Theory and released for
Meta Quest 2 and
PICO 4 on 9 March 2023.
Dance production
In September 2022,
Rambert Dance presented a dance production based on the series titled ''Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby'' directed and choreographed by Benoit Swan Pouffer, written by Knight. It premiered at the
Birmingham Hippodrome, before touring the UK and was filmed for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Peaky Blinders at BFI Collections*
*
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