Peaky Blinders Netflix series review, Digi Mart USA News: From HBO’s The Sopranos to Paramount+’s MobLand, dysfunctional mob families make for great television, but no other group of criminals is quite as cunning, conniving, and calculating as the Shelby family from Netflix’s Peaky Blinders. Starring Oscar-winning Cillian Murphy as the notorious Shelby ringleader Thomas “Tommy” Shelby, the series takes viewers back to Small Heath, Birmingham, in 1919, the town that would witness the Shelbys’ rise, peak, and eventual downfall.
Violence and bloodshed are expected in the series, but Peaky Blinders is just as much a family drama as it is a crime epic. Blood may be thicker than water, but Tommy is a businessman first and a family man second.
Across six seasons, the series delivers no shortage of shocking plot twists to keep audiences hooked, made all the more surprising by the fact that many come from the people closest to Tommy.
Inspired by the real-life street gang, Peaky Blinders follows Tommy, fresh out of serving in World War I, as he returns to Small Heath with plans to turn his family’s small horse-betting operation into a legitimate business. His opportunity comes when his men stumble upon a crate of stolen military weapons, setting his bigger plans for the Peaky Blinders into motion.
From blackmailing police authorities and taking territory from rival gangs to expanding into bigger cities, each season sees Tommy taking another step toward legitimizing Shelby Company Limited.
As Tommy’s ambitions grow, so do the risks. Every season also follows the seemingly untouchable Tommy pushing his luck further, making increasingly questionable decisions to keep his empire growing.
He doesn’t even hesitate to use his own family members as collateral, insisting that it’s all for a greater purpose. That is part of the appeal: watching just how long Tommy can get away with his schemes before his luck finally runs out.
When a man who has spent his entire life building an empire finds himself with nothing left, the question becomes whether he can rise from the ashes or whether this is finally where his story ends.
Peaky Blinders has no shortage of seasoned actors bringing its characters to life. Besides Murphy’s cutthroat performance as the morally ambiguous and frighteningly intelligent Tommy, the rest of the Shelby family are just as gutsy as their leader, with some arguably even more so.
From Paul Anderson as Tommy’s violent but troubled older brother, Arthur Shelby, to Helen McCrory as the wiser and more level-headed Aunt Polly Gray, each family member has a distinct personality that makes them fascinating to watch. Put them all in the same room, and their explosive chemistry makes audiences wonder how they haven’t killed each other yet.
The series also boasts an impressive roster of recurring characters, some of whom become regular fixtures in Tommy’s life while others appear for only a season or two. Even with limited screen time, these roles attract plenty of talent.
Anya Taylor-Joy, Stephen Graham, and Adrien Brody are just a few of the big names who join the cast in later seasons. Then there is Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons, the leader of a London-based Jewish gang.
Appearing across five seasons, Hardy makes for one of Tommy’s most entertaining counterparts, with their unpredictable alliance and rivalry providing some of the series’ best moments.
The original Peaky Blinders series ended in 2022, seemingly sealing Tommy’s fate after six seasons of chasing one impossible high after another. However, the story did not end there.
In March 2026, creator Steven Knight released a feature-film continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, set years after the original show’s finale. Following its premiere, Netflix doubled down on the franchise by announcing a two-part sequel series focusing on Tommy’s sons, Duke (Jamie Bell) and Charles Shelby (Charlie Heaton).
The cast also includes Jessica Brown Findlay, Lashana Lynch, and Lucy Karczewski.
Set in 1953, the sequel follows the next generation of Shelbys as Birmingham rebuilds itself after World War II. A massive reconstruction project creates new opportunities, but everyone wants a piece of it.
At the center of the action is Duke, now grown up and even more ruthless than when audiences last saw him in The Immortal Man, where Barry Keoghan played the character. Meanwhile, his half-brother Charles has cut ties with the Shelby family and the Peaky Blinders.
But once a Shelby, always a Shelby. With a family that endures for all the wrong reasons, Peaky Blinders is a near-perfect binge for anyone who enjoys watching a powerful crime family rise to the top, only to slowly fall apart from within.
If you are caught up on MobLand and tired of rewatching The Sopranos, it is time to take a journey to Birmingham next.
