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Peaky Blinders

TV Show

Steven Knight developed Peaky Blinders, which was directed by Otto Bathurst and produced by Katie Swinden.1)

Writers

Steven Knight, David Leland, Stephen Russell, and Toby Finlay are credited as the writers.2)

Filming Locations

Birmingham, Bradford, Dudley, Leeds, Liverpool, and Port Sunlight were all used as filming locations for the series.3)

Railway Sequences

Using carriages from the Ingrow Museum of Rail Travel, railway sequences were shot between Keighley and Damems (owned by Vintage Carriages Trust and carriages owned by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust).4)

Sam Neill's Dialect

Northern Irish actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson assisted Sam Neill in perfecting his Northern Irish dialect for the character of C.I. Campbell.5)

Times

Peaky Blinders is a gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England, immediately after World War I.6)

Gang

The plot revolves around the Romani Peaky Blinders gang and its ambitious and violent leader Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy).7)

Chief Inspector Chester Campbell

The gang attracts the attention of Chief Inspector Chester Campbell (Sam Neill), a detective in the Royal Irish Constabulary dispatched from Belfast to rid the city of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), gangs, and common criminals.8)

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill (Andy Nyman in series 1 and Richard McCabe in series 2) charged him with putting down a riot in Birmingham and retrieving a stolen stockpile of munitions destined for Libya.9)

Shelby Family Location

The Shelby family expands its criminal organization throughout the “South and North [of London] while retaining a foothold in their Birmingham base” in the second series, which takes place two years after the first.10)

Derby Day

It began in 1921 and culminates on Derby Day in June 1922 at Epsom Racecourse.11)

Reception

Peaky Blinders received mostly favorable reviews, with particular appreciation for its script, performances, visual flair, and elegant cinematography.12)

The Guardian

The series was described as a “riveting, fast-paced tale of post-First World War Birmingham criminals” by David Renshaw of The Guardian, who praised Murphy as the “ever-so-cool Tommy Shelby” and the rest of the cast for their “strong performances”.13)

Telegraph

The Telegraph's Sarah Compton gave the series a 4/5 rating, praising it for its uniqueness and “confounding all of our assumptions”.14)

Digital Spy

Digital Spy's Alex Fletcher says “Peaky Blinders has started as sharp as a dart”, while Den of Geek calls the season “the most brilliant, sophisticated, and engaging BBC drama in centuries”.15)

Spin Off

A spin-off film was announced in 2022, following the last season of Peaky Blinders, season 6.16)

Real Gang

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight was inspired by the real-life Birmingham street gang of the same name. Unlike the Shelbys, the actual Peaky Blinders were in business from the 1880s until the 1910s. The organisation arose as a result of the difficult economic conditions in working-class Britain. They stood out with fitted jackets, overcoats, buttoned waistcoats, leather boots, and peaked flat hats. They ruled Birmingham and its environs until the Birmingham Boys, a rival gang commanded by Billy Kimber, took over after 1910.17)

Name Origin

Carl Chinn, a well-known Birmingham historian who has authored multiple books about the Peaky Blinders, feels that there is a prevalent myth about how the gang obtained their name. The gang members, according to legend, would sew razor blades into the tops of their hats and use them as weapons to cut their victims. Chinn believes that the Peaky Blinders got their moniker from their trademark peaked headgear. The term “Blinders” then refers to someone who is well-dressed and attractive.18)

Season 2 Casting

Peaky Blinders Season 2 open casting call was launched in January 2014, searching for young male actors between the ages of 13 and 19. They indicated that a diverse cast was sought and that no prior acting experience was required. As a result, massive lines formed for more than a half-mile throughout Digbeth.19)

Weinstein Company

Despite being engaged in the US distribution, The Weinstein Company's logo and name were deleted from the Peaky Blinders credits in Season 4. According to Deadline Hollwyood, the firm was eliminated from the Peaky Blinders credits on Netflix in 2017, as well as retrospectively for the first three seasons. Several media professionals, including convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, founded The Weinstein Company. Peaky Blinders' production team understandably did not want to be affiliated with the corporation after the numerous charges made against Harvey Weinstein.20)

peaky_blinders.1659587213.txt.gz · Last modified: 2022/08/03 23:26 by eziothekilla34