Peaky Blinders (TV series)



Peaky Blinders is a British television action crime drama based upon the exploits of the Peaky Blinders gang, and is set in Birmingham, England in the aftermath of World War I. The series, created by Steven Knight and produced by Caryn Mandabach Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions, centres on stars Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, the gang's leader, and Sam Neill as Chester Campbell, a commissioned detective tasked with  suppressing the gang.

The first series aired on BBC Two on 13 September 2013 and ran for six episodes. The second series premiered on 2 October 2014. The third series premiered on 5 May 2016. On 26 May 2016, the BBC announced they had ordered a fourth and fifth series of the show. The fourth series premiered on 15 November 2017; after the season finale broadcast on 20 December 2017, it was announced that series 5 will be shown in 2019.

Overview
Peaky Blinders is a gangster family epic set in Birmingham, England in 1919, just after the First World War. The story centres on the Peaky Blinders gang and their ambitious and highly cunning boss Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy). The gang comes to the attention of Chief Inspector Major Chester Campbell (played by Sam Neill), a detective in the Royal Irish Constabulary sent over by Winston Churchill from Belfast, where he had been sent to "clean up" the city of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), communists, gangs and common criminals. Winston Churchill (played by Andy Nyman in series 1 and Richard McCabe in series 2) charged him with suppressing disorder and uprising in Birmingham and recovering a stolen cache of arms meant to be shipped to Libya.

The second series is set two years after the first and sees the Shelby family expand their criminal organisation in the "South and North [of London] while maintaining a stronghold in their Birmingham heartland." It begins in 1921 and ends with a climax at Epsom racecourse on Derby Day in June 1922.

Series three is set two years after series two, in 1924. It follows Tommy and his family as they enter an even more dangerous world as they once again expand, this time, internationally. Internet-based film and TV news company Screen Rant said

"The season revolves around the notion of social classes and empires, and how they rise and fall with a startling sort of predictability. As the show suggests, over time, empires become too big, too corrupt, and too complicated to sustain themselves and eventually, they collapse. …[T]he season expresses its fears of expansion by teaching Tommy a powerful lesson about the other sharks skulking around in criminal waters – especially when those criminals are the ones involved in governmental plots with massive geopolitical implications. Essentially, Peaky Blinders embarked on a fish out of water story by moving outside its own comfort zone and taking the risk of expanding too much and too quickly. There are times when that risk appears to have paid off[.]"

Series three also added such talents as: Paddy Considine as Father John Hughes; Alexander Siddig as Ruben Oliver, a painter whom Polly enlists to paint her portrait; Gaite Jansen as Russian Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna; and Kate Phillips as Linda Shelby, wife of Arthur.

Series four begins on Christmas Eve, 1925 and ends following the general strike of May 1926.

Main Cast

 * Cillian Murphy as Thomas ‘Tommy’ Shelby OBE DCM MM MP (series 1—present): The overall leader of the Peaky Blinders, and brother of Arthur, John, Ada, and Finn Shelby. Tommy served in World War I with the rank of Sergeant Major and was decorated for bravery. His experiences in World War I left him disillusioned and beset with ongoing nightmares.
 * Helen McCrory as Polly (Elizabeth) Gray, née Shelby (series 1—present): The aunt of Tommy and his siblings, and treasurer of the Peaky Blinders. She led the organisation when Tommy, Arthur, and John were fighting in World War I. Polly's two children, Anna and Michael, were taken away from her as infants. In series 2, Polly reunites with her son but learns her daughter had died.
 * Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby, Jr. (series 1—present): The oldest Shelby sibling and the bulldog of the family. Arthur owns The Garrison. He also suffers from severe shell-shock or PTSD from his experiences in the war, and suffers from violent outbursts, constant mood swings, and attempts at suicide. Arthur is one of the leaders of the Peaky Blinders.
 * Sam Neill as Chester Campbell (series 1—2): An Ulster Protestant Irish Major drafted from Belfast to locate and recover a missing consignment of Lewis guns accidentally stolen by the Peaky Blinders. Campbell was illustrious for his work in ridding Belfast of its gang elements. Campbell also had developed a vendetta against the Peaky Blinders, in particular, Tommy Shelby, and vowed to destroy Tommy and the Peaky Blinders.
 * Annabelle Wallis as Grace Shelby née Burgess (series 1—3): A former undercover agent and Ulster Protestant Irish woman working with Chester Campbell. She was undercover as a barmaid at The Garrison.
 * Joe Cole as John Shelby (series 1—4): The third youngest Shelby. He is a World War I veteran and is one of the Peaky Blinders' leaders.
 * Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne, née Shelby (series 1—present): The Shelby brothers' only sister. Ada is the only sibling not involved with the Peaky Blinders. She had a son with Freddie Thorne, whom she named Karl (named after Karl Marx).

Supporting cast

 * Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons (series 2—4): The leader of a Jewish gang, in Camden Town. He is violent and unpredictable, but intelligent. Solomons runs a distillery disguised as a bakery.
 * Adrien Brody as Luca Changretta (series 4): A New York mafioso with a vendetta against the Shelby Family.
 * Aidan Gillen as Aberama Gold (series 4): A new and dangerous ally of the Shelby Family and lover to Polly Gray.
 * Charlotte Riley as May Carleton (series 2, 4): A wealthy widow who owns racehorses.
 * Paddy Considine as Father John Hughes (series 3): A priest working with Section D (The Economic League) in the British government.
 * Noah Taylor as Derby Sabini (series 2): The leader of an Italian gang in Camden Town.
 * Charlie Creed-Miles as Billy Kimber (series 1); a local kingpin who runs the local races. (series 1)
 * Finn Cole as Michael Gray (series 2—present): Polly Gray's biological son.
 * Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Esme Shelby, née Lee (series 1—4): John Shelby's wife. Esme married John as part of a deal between the Peaky Blinders and the Lees (a Gypsy family) to form a partnership.
 * Kate Phillips as Linda Shelby (series 3—present): Wife of Arthur Shelby.
 * Charlie Murphy as Jessie Eden (series 4): An enigmatic union convenor and lover to Tommy Shelby.
 * Natasha O'Keeffe as Lizzie Stark (series 1—present): A former prostitute who works for Tommy as his secretary.
 * Gaite Jansen as Princess Tatiana Petrovna (series 3); Russian princess.
 * Iddo Goldberg as Freddie Thorne (series 1): a known communist who fought in the Great War as a sergeant alongside Tommy. Ada Shelby's husband.
 * Alexander Siddig as Ruben Oliver (series 3); a portrait artist in romantic relationship with Polly Gray (series 3)
 * Jack Rowan as Bonnie Gold (series 4—present); Aberama Gold's boxing champion son (series 4)

Recurring Cast

 * Harry Kirton as Finn Shelby (series 2—present); the fifth and youngest Shelby sibling.
 * Ned Dennehy as Charlie Strong (series 1—present): Owner of a boatyard and an uncle figure to Tommy.
 * Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs (series 1—present): A Gypsy friend of Tommy Shelby.
 * Ian Peck as Curly (series 1—present): Assistant to Charlie Strong.
 * Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah Jesus (series 1—present): A preacher and friend of the Peaky Blinders.
 * Jordan Bolger as Isaiah Jesus (series 2—present); Jeremiah's son and a member of the Peaky Blinders
 * Tommy Flanagan as Arthur Shelby, Sr. (series 1); the father of Tommy and his siblings and Polly's brother.
 * Alfie Evans-Meese as Finn Shelby (series 1); the fifth youngest Shelby sibling.
 * Samuel Edward-Cook as Danny "Whizz-Bang" Owen (series 1); a former comrade of Tommy who fought in the Great War.
 * Andy Nyman as Winston Churchill (series 1)
 * David Dawson as Roberts (series 1); Billy Kimber's lawyer.
 * Tony Pitts as Sergeant/Inspector Moss (series 1—present); a policeman on the Peaky Blinders' pay roll.
 * Kevin Metcalfe as Scudboat (series 1)
 * Neil Bell as Harry Fenton (series 1)
 * Lobo Chan as Mr Zhang (series 1); a Chinese businessman
 * Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Malacki Byrne  (series 1)
 * Keith Dunphy as Maguire (series 1)
 * Kunjue Li as Chinn (series 1)
 * Richard McCabe as Winston Churchill (series 2)
 * Adam El Hagar as Ollie (series 2); Alfie Solomons 's right hand
 * Sam Hazeldine as George Sewell (series 2); Derby Sabini's right hand
 * Paul Bullion as Billy Kitchen (series 2)
 * Rory Keenan as Donal Henry (series 2)
 * Simone Kirby as Irene O’Donnell (series 2)
 * Wanda Opalinska as Rosemary Johnson (series 2,4); Michael Gray's foster mother
 * Erin Shanagher as Mrs. Ross (series 2,4)
 * Daniel Fearn as King Maine (series 2,4)
 * James Richard Marshall as Henry Russell (series 2)
 * James Eeles as Digbeth Kid (series 2)
 * Josh O'Connor as James (series 2)
 * Dorian Lough as Mario (series 2)
 * Adam Lawrence as young lover (series 2)
 * Jan Bijvoet as Grand Duke Leon Petrovna (series 3) Grand Duchess Izabella's husband
 * Dina Korzun as Grand Duchess Izabella (series 3); Princess Tatiana Petrovna's aunt
 * Stephanie Hyam as Charlotte Murray(series 3); Michael Gray's girlfriend
 * Kenneth Colley as Vicente Changretta (series 3); Luca Changretta's father
 * Bríd Brennan as Audrey Changretta (series 3—4); Luca Changretta's mother
 * Frances Tomelty as Bethany Boswell (series 3); a wise old Gypsy
 * Richard Brake as Anton Kaledin (series 3)
 * Alex Macqueen as Patrick Jarvis MP (series 3)
 * Wendy Nottingham as Mary (series 3); a housekeeper
 * Luca Matteo Zizzari as Matteo (series 4); one of Luca Changretta's henchmen
 * Jake J. Meniani as Frederico (series 4); one of Luca Changretta's henchmen
 * Dino Kelly as Goliath (series 4) ; a giant boxer and Alfie Solomons's nephew.
 * Kingsley Ben-Adir as Colonel Ben Younger (series 4)
 * Graeme Hawley as Niall Devlin (series 4); factory boss.
 * Pauline Turner as Frances (series 4); a housekeeper
 * Donald Sumpter as Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham; (series 4) King’s Private Secretary
 * Jolyon Coy as Edward Roberts (series 4)
 * Jamie Kenna as Billy Mills (series 4)
 * Joseph Long as Chef (series 4)
 * Andreas Muñoz as Antonio (series 4)
 * Jenson Clarke as Charles Shelby (series 4); son of Tommy Shelby and Grace Burgess
 * Ethan Picard-Edwards as Billy Shelby (series 4); son of Arthur Shelby, Jr. and Linda Shelby

Series 1
Peaky Blinders was created by Steven Knight, directed by Otto Bathurst, and produced by Katie Swinden. The writers are listed as Steven Knight, David Leland, Stephen Russell and Toby Finlay.

The series was filmed in Birmingham, Bradford, Dudley, Leeds, Liverpool 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 shot at the Black Country Living Museum.

Sam Neill enlisted the help of Northern Irish actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson to help him perfect a Northern Irish accent for the role of C.I. Campbell. In the end, he had to tone down the accent since the series is being marketed in the United States.

Controversially the production did not hire linguists to assist in the show, leading to the gypsies frequently speaking broken Romanian (as opposed to Romani) until series three.

Series 2
A second series was commissioned shortly after the broadcast of the first and aired in the autumn of 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 official 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 wrapped on 22 January 2016, after 78 days of shooting.

Series 4 and 5
During the initial broadcast of series 3, BBC Two renewed Peaky Blinders for series 4 and 5. Both 4 and 5 will follow suit for six episodes each. Filming for series 4 started in March 2017 and premiered on 15 November 2017. Creator and writer Steven Knight will return to write every episode of series 4 and 5. Cillian Murphy has also confirmed his return for both series; the rest of the main cast are expected to return, as well, and it was announced that Charlotte Riley is returning as May Carleton. Adrien Brody and Aidan Gillen have been cast as new characters.

Episode 1

 * St. James Infirmary Blues - The White Stripes
 * Song For Jesse - Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

Episode 2

 * Blue Veins - The Raconteurs
 * Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes
 * Brother, My Cup Is Empty - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Episode 3

 * Abattoir Blues - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
 * Cataract Rag
 * Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
 * Fascination

Episode 4

 * Broken Boy Soldier - The Raconteurs

Episode 5

 * Bring It On - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Episode 6

 * Love Is Blindness - Jack White (also used for ending theme)

Episode 1

 * To Bring You My Love - PJ Harvey
 * Down by the Water - PJ Harvey
 * Danny Boy - Johnny Cash

Episode 2

 * Broken Harp - PJ Harvey
 * When Under Ether - PJ Harvey
 * Pull A U - The Kills
 * I Want Some More - Dan Auerbach
 * If You Were There, Beware - Arctic Monkeys

Episode 3

 * Red Right Hand - PJ Harvey (opening)
 * Red Right Hand - Arctic Monkeys
 * Out of the Black - Royal Blood
 * The Water Is Wide - PJ Harvey
 * All and Everyone - PJ Harvey
 * Loverman - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Episode 4

 * Long Snake Moan - PJ Harvey
 * Is This Desire? - PJ Harvey

Episode 5

 * What He Wrote - Laura Marling
 * To Bring You My Love - PJ Harvey
 * Catherine - PJ Harvey
 * Working for the Man - PJ Harvey
 * C'mon Billy - PJ Harvey

Episode 6

 * R U Mine? - Arctic Monkeys
 * One for the Road - Arctic Monkeys
 * Arabella - Arctic Monkeys
 * My Naked Cousin - PJ Harvey
 * Fried My Little Brains - The Kills
 * Down by the Water - PJ Harvey
 * It's a Long Way to Tipperary
 * Come On Over - Royal Blood
 * River Styx - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
 * Love Bomb - Grinderman
 * All My Tears - Ane Brun
 * Do I Wanna Know - Arctic Monkeys

Episode 1

 * You And Whose Army? - Radiohead

Episode 2

 * Used to be my Girl - The Last Shadow Puppets
 * I Might Be Wrong - Radiohead

Episode 3

 * Red Right Hand - PJ Harvey (opening)
 * Burn the witch - Queens of the Stone Age
 * Tupelo - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
 * Soldier's Things - Tom Waits
 * Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair - Arctic Monkeys

Episode 5

 * Lazarus - David Bowie
 * You Want It Darker - Leonard Cohen

Episode 6

 * Life In A Glasshouse - Radiohead

Series 4
Episode 5 of the series featured a cover of the show's theme song, Red Right Hand, by Iggy Pop and Jarvis Cocker. Its sixth and final episode included an additional cover of the theme song and also of Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, both by Laura Marling, and Radiohead's How to Disappear Completely & The Pyramid Song.

Reception
Reception for Peaky Blinders has been largely positive, with notable praise for its writing, acting, visual style, and stylish cinematography. David Renshaw of The Guardian 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 a 4/5 rating, praising the show for its originality and "taking all of our expectations and confounding them." Alex Fletcher from Digital Spy 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 boxes – period drama, gangster epic, film star leads – yet 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 Britain and British 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 for the second series have remained positive, with Ellen E. Jones of The Independent 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 also favourably compared the show to US drama 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, I've never seen Boardwalk Empire, I've never seen any of them." When asked if he deliberately avoided watching these dramas, 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, Steven Knight told the Crime Scene Quarterly, "I've had unsolicited communication from Michael Mann, the film director, from Dennis Lehane, Snoop Dogg – he's such a fan. And the late David Bowie was a huge fan – more of that to come" (strongly hinting Bowie's involvement on Series 3). It was later confirmed that David Bowie's music will be featured, and Leonard Cohen has also written a new song for series 3.

Broadcast and release
On 24 September 2014, it was announced that Netflix 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.