What is Peaky Blinders about?
Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama television series about the Shelby family, a gang in Birmingham after World War I. Created by Steven Knight, it ran from 2013 to 2022 and starred Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby.
The series is set in Birmingham's Small Heath area in the 1920s and 1930s. The Shelby family runs illegal betting, fights rival gangs and expands into legitimate business and politics.
The name comes from a real gang that existed in Birmingham in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Legend says they sewed razor blades into their caps, but historians doubt this.
Style and success
The show is known for its stylish look, including flat caps, overcoats and slow-motion scenes, and its soundtrack featuring modern rock music, such as Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Peaky Blinders became internationally popular through streaming. It inspired fashion trends and themed bars.
The cast also included Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Tom Hardy and Anya Taylor-Joy.
A Peaky Blinders film starring Cillian Murphy was announced as a follow-up to the series. Cillian Murphy later won an Academy Award for Oppenheimer.