Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, England, the series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the direct aftermath of the First World War. The fictional family is loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name, who were active in the city from the 1890s to the early 20th century. Peaky Blinders features an ensemble cast. The show premiered on 12 September 2013, telecast on BBC Two. Peaky Blinders starts off in 1919, several months after the end of the First World War in series one and in the fifth season the series has taken us to 1929 which I assume the final sixth season will continue in.
Peaky Blinders has received critical acclaim, particularly for its writing, acting, visuals, 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 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 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 favourably compared the show 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, 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.”
Peaky Blinders has been on my to see list for quite some time, as I do like the era it is set in and it sounded like a show one should see. The issue was initially that I really disliked the first episode in the first season and I felt disappointed and wasn´t sure about the show at all. But, low and behold from episode two I was hooked. It´s a stylish, violent, intriguing, intelligent period drama with a rich ensemble cast and so many great characters such as Cillian Murphy as Thomas “Tommy” Shelby (This is amongst his best work), Helen McCrory (Rest in peace) as Elizabeth “Polly” Gray, Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby Jr. and Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne. I love that several supporting characters are played by great actors and they are allowed to steal the limelight when they are in the frame of the camera such as Tom Hardy as Alfred “Alfie” Solomons (Just brilliant), Paddy Considine as Father John Hughes, Aidan Gillen as Aberama Gold, Brian Gleeson as Jimmy McCavern, Annabelle Wallis as Grace Shelby, Natasha O’Keeffe as Lizzie Shelby, Gaite Jansen as Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna and Charlotte Riley as May Fitz Carleton. The show has many great strong female characters as well which makes the balance of the show perfect. The performances from all included are excellent and you become truly emerged in the story of the Peaky Blinders and it´s so well written and created by Steven Knight. Yes, Steven Knight as taken liberties in creating the show in terms of style and visual output in that time period, but still kept an historical balance to the show. I am ok with that. I love the title song “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds which really fits and there´s other great songs in the show. I have truly enjoyed all five seasons and I am looking forward to the sixth and final one with both excitement and sadness. #PeakyBlinders
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