This article has been republished from our Rewind newsletter.
Even the best series you can stream take a few episodes, or seasons to fully find their stride. Many get cancelled before they even reach that point. By contrast, Stephen Knight’s gangster drama Peaky Blinders debuts with a solid sense of its own rhythm right out of the gate.
Set in 1920s Birmingham, Peaky Blinders follows the exploits of the titular street gang and its leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) as they fight to get what they want in a post-war Britain. Produced by the BBC and exported globally by Netflix, the series is part gangster drama and part period piece. That setup might sound like a contradiction, but it's actually the secret ingredient to the series’ success.
The ability to tap into the strengths of those two specific genres lends Peaky Blinders a lot of its charm and flavour. It’s hard to find a historical drama this gratuitous, and even rarer to find a gangster story so literary and mythic. The show’s unique blend of tones brings colour and coarseness to an era of history that’s often seen as stuffy and formal. This is achieved by pairing up meticulous renderings of the past with the sounds of modern British punk music. Then, on the other end of things, the historical context surrounding the Shelby saga adds heft to the gritty crime drama that unfolds over the course of the series’ 6-season run.
Regardless of which end you approach the series from, Peaky Blinders is packed to the brim with striking sights and sounds, lyrical dialogue, and larger-than-life performances that get stuck in your head like a catchy pop song. Although Murphy’s leading role as Tommy has enough gravity to ground the cast surrounding him, it doesn’t hurt that the series’ ensemble is as strong as it is. The show’s interest in that core cast only deepens over time, letting you dig under the skin of each member of the Shelby family and understand who they are and how they fit in.
Much like the geopolitical drama playing out in the background, this context only makes it more rewarding to watch the Peaky Blinders end up in high-stakes situations opposite Hollywood A-listers like Anya Taylor-Joy and Adrien Brody.
More than just filling the Babylon Berlin-shaped hole in my streaming diet, Peaky Blinders has reminded me that life is too short to waste time waiting for a show to get good. And with a movie set to follow up on the series in short order, there’s never been a better time to plunge into the series for the first time or catch up.
Peaky Blinders is streaming on Netflix. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man premieres on Netflix next Friday (March 20).
Release: 2013 - 2022
Seasons: 6 | Episodes: 36
Creator: Steven Knight | Cast: Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Joe Cole, Annabelle Wallace, Sam Neill, Tom Hardy
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Fergus Halliday
Digital Content Editor
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