Peaky Blinders spoilers follow.
Peaky Blinders season six is happening BUT it’s going to be the final series of the show ALTHOUGH the “story will continue in another form”, according to its creator Steven Knight.
Peaky Blinders season five saw extreme highs (welcome back Alfie Solomons), gut-punching lows (RIP Aberama Gold), and everything in between.
But enough of the old. What’s done is done and it’s now time to look ahead to what Knight has in store.
“Peaky is back and with a bang,” he said in a statement. “After the enforced production delay due to the Covid pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher.
“We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it. While the TV series will be coming to an end, the story will continue in another form.”
And it appears that form is a movie, and possibly even movies, as well as spin-off TV shows. Speaking to BBC News, Knight said: “We felt what would be a great idea is to, almost in place of that seventh series, is to go onto the big screen.
“We’re talking about… I don’t like the word spin-offs, but TV series that are going to be inspired by and include characters from Peaky.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Peaky Blinders season six.
Peaky Blinders season 6 release date in the UK: When will it air? And when will filming start again?
As Knight said in his statement, the show has officially gone back into production. Hurrah!
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That chimes with what director Anthony Byrne previously told Digital Spy: “In an ideal world it would be great to be prepping again towards the end of the year [2020] with a view to start shooting early next year [2021].
“We were due to start filming at the end of March [2020] until the end of July. If we did start shooting in January, we wouldn’t finish until May / June and then it’s another six months of editing.”
That means we might not see Peaky Blinders season six until the end of 2021 or perhaps early 2022.
Odds are Peaky Blinders season six will appear on Netflix after it’s been broadcast on BBC One, if it follows the same pattern as season five.
“What can you tell me about Series 6?”@samclaflin and director Anthony Byrne join @Laurence_Moza for Obsessed With #PeakyBlinders, on BBC Sounds 🎧👉 https://t.co/eNACmYkRCk pic.twitter.com/8KIBswy3cW
— BBC Sounds (@BBCSounds) September 24, 2019
And it certainly sounds like the wait will be worth it.
Emmett J Scanlan, who plays Billy Grade, told Digital Spy that season six is “so f**king strong”.
He added: “I’ve read all the scripts since then, which of course are all subject to change… It won’t disappoint, I promise you. Steven is a master.”
Peaky Blinders season 6 episodes: How many will there be?
All five seasons of the BBC series have had six episodes apiece, so barring a big shift we’d expect the next chapter to also follow that pattern. We also know Peaky Blinders season six, episode 1 will be called ‘Black Day’.
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Speaking to Digital Spy, Byrne said that they have considered longer episodes: “We talked about it for the first episode of season six and then the final episode of season six, the idea is great and it would be cool to do.”
Peaky Blinders season 6 cast: Who’s in it?
The season five finale ended with Tommy Shelby appearing to lose his mind and poised to kill himself after being betrayed during his failed assassination attempt on Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) – who has been confirmed to return in season six – by Byrne.
The story will pick up where it left off, with Cillian Murphy back as Tommy Shelby, Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby, Finn Cole as Michael Gray, and Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne. Helen McCrory, who played Polly Gray, tragically died in April. While the role was due to continue to the end of the show’s run, it is unclear whether McCrory had filmed any scenes. The BBC has not made any statement yet regarding her character.
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You might be surprised to hear that Murphy wasn’t always a shoo-in for the role of Tommy.
“There was a bit of convincing needed,” he told The Guardian while promoting A Quiet Place Part II. “Initially, there may have been some doubts about whether I had the requisite physicality, which I understand. I’m not the most physically imposing individual.”
Initially, Knight wanted Jason Statham for the role.
“I met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason,” he told Esquire: “One of the reasons was because physically in the room Jason is Jason. Cillian, when you meet him, isn’t Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that. He sent me a text [later] saying, ‘Remember, I’m an actor,’ which is absolutely the thing, because he can transform himself.
“If you meet him in the street he is a totally different human being.”
Chatting to The Guardian, Murphy added: “It’s a cool story. If I was that succinct, I’ll take it.
‘Remember I’m an actor’ … and Statham isn’t? They are entirely unconnected.”
In terms of the new cast, Black Mirror star Conrad Khan has been cast in an unnamed role, along with Animal Kingdom’s James Frecheville. Meanwhile, another Black Mirror alumni, Amber Anderson, has been cast in a mysterious new role.
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Byrne described her (exclusively to Digital Spy) as “pretty dark”, adding: “I haven’t seen a character like her in Peaky before… she certainly gives Tommy a run for his money.
“She challenges him in a different way basically. She’s certainly not a protagonist and I don’t know if she’s an antagonist. It’s similar to Mosley… she has a similar ideology.”
There’s also:
• Lizzie Shelby (Natasha O’Keeffe)
• Finn Shelby (Harry Kirton)
• Johnny Dogs (Packy Lee)
• Isaiah (Daryl McCormack took over the role from Jordan Bolger in series five)
• Billy Grade (Emmett J Scanlan)
Linda Shelby’s return has been confirmed after she was spotted on set.
Speaking previously to Digital Spy about the relationship between Linda and Arthur, Kate Phillips said: “I definitely feel like there’s a lot of unfinished business there. They share a child together. There’s definitely no chance Arthur would let Linda get away with Billy, so they’re tied together, with the family connection, and obviously family is a big connection in Peaky Blinders.
“I’d like to think she’s going to be around and maybe there might be some reconciliation to have but also, you know, her fury is pretty palpable by the end of episode five. It does beg the question: how do you come back from trying to kill your husband?”
Tommy continued to hallucinate an apparition of Grace Shelby (Annabelle Wallis) throughout season five, so there’s a strong chance she will appear again.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Gina Gray will also return as she continues her takeover schemes with Michael. Meanwhile, Brian Gleeson’s Jimmy McCavern comeback seems likely as his work with Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists isn’t over.
The biggest comeback was Tom Hardy’s Alfie Solomons, who miraculously managed to cheat the grim reaper. Knight has said that there will be “some surprises in terms of cast”, describing Solomons as “immortal”. But it remains to be seen if he will feature.
But Bonnie Gold (Jack Rowan), his dad Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen), and Colonel Ben Younger (Kingsley Ben-Adir) all met their makers, and Jessie Eden, played by Charlie Murphy, will also not return.
Peaky Blinders season 6 cast: celebrity cameos?
Knight has confirmed that Stephen Graham will feature.
“Not [as] Al Capone – I didn’t want to go west because it’s a minefield once you go into Chicago gangsters, he told Obsessed With Peaky Blinders. “I refer to him last series, but I didn’t want to go into that.”
When asked what Graham’s role will be, he said: “I’ve already got it and I’m not going to tell you [laughs]!”
Due to filming delays (courtesy of COVID), Graham’s involvement was pushed back.
Speaking on the Pound for Pound podcast in April 2020, he said: “I was supposed to be starting Peaky Blinders but that has been put on hold indefinitely.
“Luckily I was in a really good position where I was going to go from job to job for the next three years – my agent spent a lot of time putting that together – and obviously the rug just got pulled from under our feet.”
But he’s been spotted on the set of the upcoming series and we also have an official photo of him in character, so you can stop worrying now!
On the topic of celebrity cameos, Knight added: “The amount of people who have come to us wanting to be in it is quite astonishing, and really good people.
“But I think now we’re coming to the final two series, I’m going to relax and open the gates a bit because there’s some amazing people who want to be in it, and I think why not.”
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Knight said: “Samuel L Jackson has said he wants to be in it which is great, getting the people the calibre of that wanting to be in the show. I can’t really name names, but it happens.”
According to Knight, Brad Pitt, Snoop Dogg, and A$AP Rocky have all been in contact.
Chatting to Radio Times, Knight said: “We’ve had an amazing response from famous people for some reason. My agent got a call saying Snoop’s coming to London, he wants to meet two people, and you’re one of them.”
Peaky Blinders season 6 plot: What will happen?
Knight himself has already teased that what lies ahead tops everything we’ve seen so far. “I’ve just finished writing series six and it’s the best yet,” he told the BBC.
So, what will happen in the next chapter?
Byrne told Digital Spy: “It picks up directly [where it left off], so the very first image you will see will be back in that field… Tommy, with a gun to his head. Then, we will move on from there, we resolve that amazing moment… it’s great.”
Tommy is now Deputy Leader of the British Union of Fascists alongside leader Oswald Mosley. He makes a failed assassination attempt on Oswald, but someone betrayed him.
The big question is: who snitched? Michael? Billy Grade? Johnny Dogs? We look at all of the suspects here.
Chatting to Digital Spy, Scanlan addressed the fan theory that the blame lies with him:
“Hypothetically speaking, would you blame him if he did [betray Tommy Shelby]? They do force him, threaten him, manipulate him into doing their bidding. They do bully him psychologically and physically. So if he did, and I’m not saying he did, would you blame him?”
Season five was described as part one of two, so we imagine that huge cliffhanger that saw Tommy fall apart as he pointed a gun at his head will be wrapped up.
We know season six will introduce Gina’s family and the people surrounding Oswald. Byrne told Obsessed With Peaky Blinders: “Gina and whoever her family are, will make themselves known, Oswald Mosley and some people around him and his world.
“Well Gina is obviously American and she comes from quite an influential American family, who are not overtly a crime family, but there’s a lot of grey there and that’s sort of teed up to be delved into in the next season.”
He added that her family are connected to the “second option” that Gina mentions after Michael’s failed attempt to seize the family business. Byrne also hinted that “black and gold” are huge themes for season six.
n real life, Mosley married his second wife, Diana Guinness, in 1936. They are married at the home of Joseph Goebbels and Hitler is their guest of honour, as she’s friends with him. Given Winston Churchill’s role, perhaps Adolf could make an appearance, too.
Rumours that Mr Bean himself, Rowan Atkinson, has been cast as Hitler recently began doing the rounds, but Metro.co.uk was told by show bosses that it’s “definitely not true”.
Rowan Atkinson (Mr.Bean) is rumoured to be playing Adolf Hitler in Peaky Blinders. pic.twitter.com/fWa0oGrI9s
— Netflix Diaries (@netflxdiaries) September 22, 2020
This theory sounds plausible, as Steven said there’s “a figure from history who may surprise people in series six” during a Reddit AMA.
Some Peaky Blinders season five deleted scenes reveal that Polly wanted to resign because of Tommy’s work with fascists, with Aberama encouraging her to leave the Shelby leader behind. Meanwhile, Tommy turned his attention to setting up a charity to help soldiers with shell shock.
Knight said that he wants to turn Tommy into a “good man” by the end of the show.
“I always wanted to take it through to the Second World War,” he told Digital Spy and other press. “I always wanted it to be this story of this family between the wars.
“My intention always has been to redeem [Tommy] so that at the end he’s genuinely a good man doing good things.”
Peaky Blinders season 6 trailer: When can I watch it?
Trailers are often released in the month leading up to the premiere, so once we have that all-important date, we’ll be able to estimate when it’ll land.
In the meantime, a Peaky Blinders’ immersive theatre experience, titled Crooks 1926, is now open and will run through to August.
“Plunge deep into the cockney criminal underworld of Elephant and Castle as you are immersed in one family’s brutal battle for supremacy,” reads the description. “Colab Tavern’s most ambitious immersive production yet grants you complete autonomy to shape the experience.
“Can you orchestrate the grand territorial takeover of London? Will you broker an alliance with The West End Boys and side with Italian Godfather Sabini? Become the Blinder as you rub shoulders with the likes of Alfie White and The Cortesi Brothers.
“Fix a horse race, hire thugs or even scheme privately with a devious traitor; whatever you do, you are the master of fate.”
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Tickets are priced at £59 for two people, £99 for a group of four and £129 for six. Buy your tickets here.
Peaky Blinders season 5 is available on Netflix.
Source: digitalspy.com