Peaky Blinders is a British period crime television series created by Steven Knight, set in Birmingham, England, which follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the aftermath of World War I. urban youth band of the same name, active in the city from 1890 to the beginning of the 20th century. The series is written by Steven Knight, Toby Finlay and Stephen Russell. Directed by Otto Bathurst and Tom Harper.
The entire 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. The series were streamed on Netflix.
Synopsis:
Peaky Blinders is a gangster family of Irish and Roma descent set in Birmingham, England, in 1919, several months after the end of World War I in November 1918.The story centers on the Peaky Blinders gang and their ambitious leader and very cunning Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) .The gang comes to the attention of Major Chester Campbell, a Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Chief Detective Inspector sent by Winston Churchill from Belfast, where he was sent to clean up the city the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Communists, gangs and common criminals.
The first series ends on December 3, 1919 – “Black Star Day”, the event where the Peaky Blinders plan to take over Billy Kimber’s betting fields at the Worcester races.
The second series sees the Shelby family expanding their criminal organization in the ‘South and North while maintaining a stronghold in their Birmingham hearts. “[8] Begins in 1921 and ends with a climax at Epsom Racecourse on May 31, 1922 – Derby Day.
The third series begins and ends in 1924 as Tommy and his family enter an even more dangerous world as they expand again, this time on an international scale.
The fourth episode begins on Christmas Eve 1925 and ends after a general strike in May 1926, when Tommy was elected Member of Parliament in 1927.
The fifth series begins two years later on October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday) and ends on December 7, 1929, the morning after a demonstration led by the fascist leader Oswald Mosley.
Cast:
- Cillian Murphy as Thomas “Tommy” Shelby, the leader of the Peaky Blinders.
- Sam Neill as Chief Inspector/Major Chester Campbell, an Ulster Protestant policeman drafted from Belfast.
- Helen McCrory as Elizabeth “Polly” Gray, née Shelby, the aunt of Tommy and his siblings.
- Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby, Jr., the oldest Shelby sibling.
- Annabelle Wallis as Grace Shelby First wife of Tommy Shelby and the mother of his son Charles.
- Iddo Goldberg as Freddie Thorne Ada’s husband.
- Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne, née Shelby, the Shelby brothers’ only sister.
- Joe Cole as John “Johnny” Shelby, the third-youngest Shelby brother.
Review:
Peaky Blinders has received critical acclaim, particularly for its writing, acting, imagery, and elegant cinematography. The series consists of a beautiful dark industrial landscape, a great soundtrack, rich characters that have real depth, played by good actors, all in the spirit of a great script and an interesting timeline. It has a more theatrical and artificial effect, somewhere between the music hall and the music video. The Telegraph gave the series a 4/5 rating, praising the show for its originality.The show was particularly celebrated for its elegant cinematography and charismatic performances, as well as for getting a glimpse of a part of England and English history rarely explored on television. IMDb gave a rating of 8.8 out of 10.
