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PEAKY BLINDERS SEASON 5

WHAT IS IT?

Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama television series created by Steven Knight, that premiered on BBC Two on 12 September 2013. The series is primarily set in Birmingham, England, and follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the aftermath of World War I. The fictional gang is loosely based on the Peaky Blinders, a real 19th century urban youth gang who were active in the city from the 1890s and early twentieth century. Cillian Murphy stars as Tommy Shelby, the gang's leader, with Helen McCrory and Paul Anderson playing Tommy's aunt and older brother respectively, who serve as the second-most senior members of the gang.

In May 2018, after their Drama Series win at the BAFTA TV Awards, Knight confirmed his "ambition of making it a story of a family between two wars, and by ending it with the first air raid siren in Birmingham", which was 25 June 1940. After the conclusion of series four, he confirmed that it would take another three series (seven in total) to complete the story up to that point. Series five premiered on BBC One on August 25, 2019.

Overview

Peaky Blinders is a gangster family epic set in Birmingham, England in 1919, several months after the end of the First World War in November 1918. The story centres on the Peaky Blinders gang and their ambitious and highly cunning boss Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy). The gang comes to the attention of Chief Inspector Major Chester Campbell (played by Sam Neill), a detective in the Royal Irish Constabulary sent over by Winston Churchill from Belfast, where he had been sent to "clean up" the city of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Communists, gangs and common criminals. Winston Churchill (played by Andy Nyman in Series 1 and Richard McCabe in Series 2) charged him with suppressing disorder and uprising in Birmingham and recovering a stolen cache of arms meant to be shipped to Libya. The first series concludes on 3 December 1919 – "Black Star Day", the event where the Peaky Blinders plan to take over Billy Kimber's betting pitches at the Worcester Races.

The second series sees the Shelby family expand their criminal organisation in the "South and North while maintaining a stronghold in their Birmingham heartland." It begins in 1921 and ends with a climax at Epsom racecourse on 31 May 1922 – Derby Day.

Series three starts and ends in 1924 as it follows Tommy and his family enter an even more dangerous world as they once again expand, this time, internationally. Internet-based film and TV news company Screen Rant said:

“ The series revolves around the notion of social classes and empires, and how they rise and fall with a startling sort of predictability. As the show suggests, over time, empires become too big, too corrupt, and too complicated to sustain themselves and eventually, they collapse. …The series expresses its fears of expansion by teaching Tommy a powerful lesson about the other sharks skulking around in criminal waters – especially when those criminals are the ones involved in governmental plots with massive geopolitical implications. 

Essentially, Peaky Blinders embarked on a fish out of water story by moving outside its own comfort zone and taking the risk of expanding too much and too quickly. There are times when that risk appears to have paid off. ”

Series Three also features Paddy Considine as Father John Hughes; Alexander Siddig as Ruben Oliver, a painter whom Polly enlists to paint her portrait; Gaite Jansen as Russian Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna; and Kate Phillips as Linda Shelby, wife of Arthur.

Series Four begins on Christmas Eve 1925 and ends following the general strike of May 1926.

Cast

• Cillian Murphy as Thomas 'Tommy' Shelby OBE DCM MM MP: The overall leader of the Peaky Blinders, and brother of Arthur, John, Ada, and Finn Shelby. Tommy served in World War I with the rank of Sergeant Major and was decorated for bravery. His experiences in World War I left him disillusioned and beset with ongoing nightmares.
• Helen McCrory as Polly (Elizabeth) Gray, née Shelby: The aunt of Tommy and his siblings, and treasurer of the Peaky Blinders. She led the organisation when Tommy, Arthur, and John were fighting in World War I. Polly's two children, Anna and Michael, were taken away from her when they were 3 and 6 years old respectively. In series 2, Polly reunites with her son but learns her daughter had died in Australia.
• Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby, Jr.: The oldest Shelby sibling and the bulldog of the family. Arthur owns The Garrison. He also suffers from severe shell shock or PTSD from his experiences in the war, and suffers from violent outbursts, constant mood swings, and attempts at suicide. Arthur is one of the leaders of the Peaky Blinders.
• Sam Neill as Chester Campbell (series 1–2): An Ulster Protestant Irish Major drafted from Belfast to locate and recover a missing consignment of Lewis guns accidentally stolen by the Peaky Blinders. Campbell was illustrious for his work in ridding Belfast of its gang elements. Campbell also had developed a vendetta against the Peaky Blinders, in particular, Tommy Shelby, and vowed to destroy Tommy and the Peaky Blinders.
• Annabelle Wallis as Grace Shelby née Burgess (series 1–3, 5): A former undercover agent and Irish Protestant woman working with Chester Campbell. She was undercover as a barmaid at The Garrison.
• Joe Cole as John Shelby (series 1–4): The third-youngest Shelby. He was a World War I veteran and was one of the Peaky Blinders' leaders. He was killed by members of the Changretta family who sought vengeance when John killed one of their own.
• Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne, née Shelby: The Shelby brothers' only sister. Ada is the only sibling initially not involved with the Peaky Blinders (by series 3 she takes over a leading position of the Shelby Company branch in the United States, dealing mostly with the legitimate business of the company). She had a son with Freddie Thorne, whom she named Karl (named after Karl Marx).
• Finn Cole as Michael Gray (series 2–present): Polly Gray's biological son.
• Harry Kirton as Finn Shelby (series 2–present); the fifth Shelby sibling.
• Natasha O'Keeffe as Lizzie Shelby née Stark; A former prostitute who works for Tommy as his secretary.
• Ned Dennehy as Charlie Strong: Owner of a boatyard and an uncle figure to Tommy.
• Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs: A gypsy friend of Tommy Shelby.
• Ian Peck as Curly: Assistant to Charlie Strong.
• Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah Jesus: A preacher and friend of the Peaky Blinders.
• Jordan Bolger as Isaiah Jesus (series 2–present): Jeremiah's son and a member of the Peaky Blinders
• Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Esme Shelby, née Lee (series 1–4): John Shelby's wife. Esme married John as part of a deal between the Peaky Blinders and the Lees (a gypsy family) to form a partnership.
• Kate Phillips as Linda Shelby (series 3–present): Wife of Arthur Shelby

I personally really like this show so I recoMmend you watch it from the beginning and as always have a chilled day from the viking.