We’re inching closer to Peaky Blinders season 6, as beloved Brummie gang is nearly ready to return, having been missing in action for a little over two years. And we can’t wait for them to hit Netflix again, as there are lots of questions left unanswered after season 5’s finale. We still don’t really know what went down at the end of last season. What’s the deal with Oswald Mosley? Will Tommy succumb to the mounting hysteria of his psychotic visions? And what of the stark business proposition that Gina and Michael gave to Tommy?
The fact is, the Peaky Blinders season 5 finale served up something that fans have never encountered before: that of Tommy Shelby’s (Cillian Murphy) meticulous planning falling apart, plus his most trusted relationships crumbling around him. Was he outwitted, betrayed or even both? Set to be the rollicking Brummie gangster series’ last outing, we can’t be sure what will become of the Shelby clan — but we’re certain that things aren’t looking good.
Peaky Blinders season 6 release date
As you may expect, Peaky Blinders season 6 has been one of the TV series affected by delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Production halted back in March 2020, but comments from director Anthony Byrne to Digital Spy gave us reason to know what to expect — and ideas on when to expect it.
In January 2021, it was confirmed that Peaky Blinders season 6 was beginning production. Byrne noted that originally there was 78-day shoot plan for the season, but it seems that plan had to be scrapped.
Peaky Blinders season 6 production wraps
On May 28 (much more than 78 days after the January 2021 start), Peaky Blinders season 6 wrapped production. Show director Anthony Byrne posted confirmation on his Instagram, which you can see below.
The longer production window makes sense because filming production regulations have changed per the Covid-19 pandemic. The production announcement confirmed that “The Peaky Blinders production team have developed comprehensive production protocols to ensure that the series will be produced in a safe and responsible manner, and in accordance with government guidelines, during this time of global pandemic.”
Given that wrap-date, we expect Peaky Blinders season 6’s release date will likely be in either late-late 2021, or early 2022. That delay is confirmed by Byrne’s statement that the seasons require six months of editing after production has finished.
That said, Byrne promised fans the best season so far: “We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it.”
Peaky Blinders season 6 cast
So, where do we find ourselves come season 6 with the ever-changing and growing cast?
Peaky Blinders has always dished out surprises and hefty doses of razor-sharp violence. And that’s just by order of the Peaky Blinders themselves. Every season has thrown out a boisterous bunch of new characters that we’ve grown to love or dislike, with their own nuances, story arc and intermingling with the Shelby family.
It’s important to note that Tommy has been tussling with the claws of psychosis throughout the show. By the end of season 5, things were heading towards a crescendo of sorts, as Tommy grappled with increasing angst, paranoia and trauma (both inflicted and received), as the Shelby clan has grown in strength. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the season 5 finale where his inner demons have well and truly caught up with Tommy by now, leading him to hold a gun to his own head.
This isn’t the end for Tommy, though; the head of the Shelby crew must survive to see through series creator Steven Knight’s plot, which will move the story to 1939 and the beginning of World War Two.
Moving past Tommy, we can also expect Michael, Arthur, Finn, Gina and Oswald Mosely to return.
Sam Claflin (Oswald Mosely) will reprise his role as the slimy head of the Blackshirts, but unfortunately, we don’t know anything more about Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy), who has been a prickly thorn in Tommy’s side for the best part of three seasons.
As for new cast members, it’s always felt like a sort of destiny for the series, but Stephen Graham has finally signed up to appear in season 6. This is wonderful news for anyone familiar with the Liverpudlian star (known for stints in Line of Duty and The Virtues). There’s no official word on who Graham is playing, but a picture has surfaced of him wearing a pinstripe period piece, alongside the usual bags of charisma Graham’s very presence alone brings to any stage. We can’t wait.
Australian star James Frecheville will appear in season six in an as-yet-unspecified role, announced by Peaky’s Twitter account. Frecheville appeared in the 2010 version of Animal Kingdom, an explosive neo-noir crime film set in Australia which is a tough but fascinating watch.
Another new cast member we’re extremely hyped about is the rising Bafta star nominee, Conrad Khan. If you caught him as Tyler in 2020’s bleak but captivating County Lines, then you’ll know what all the fuss is about.
Again, we’re not sure on his exact role, but you can expect Khan to be serving up one of the standout performances of the new series — even if it transpires to be a fleeting performance as is common in the murderous world of Peaky Blinders.
Peaky Blinders has always offered its fair share of surprises when it comes to casting. Knight told NME: “I’m opening the door a bit. We always have people who want to be in it and we’re talking really astonishingly good people.”
“The problem is that if you start populating the thing with people like that then it’s so distracting. But, now that we’re getting into a certain territory, I am going to open the door to a couple of really good actors.”
“Our actors are all fantastic, but what I mean is ‘celebrated’ actors who will be showing up in six.”
Such comments can only lead us to think that Knight wants to wrap up the series in a scintillating style. Going out with a bang with an ensemble of stellar character actors is one way to do this.
One thing that series has always done well is to balance more nuanced performances with more overt, character-based actors. Peaky has had lots of fun with this dynamic in the past: Adrien Brody’s portrayal of mob-boss Luca Changretta in the fourth season of Peaky Blinders, a blistering example of Brody having lots of fun with a Peaky character.
We’re sure that viewers won’t ever forget when Changretta and Tommy first met, where Brody’s Italian mafioso launched into a tirade comparing his expensive tailoring to Tommy’s suits, where “every stitch is stitched with blood.” It’s spine-chilling TV gold, and we’d love to see more of it in the new season.
Peaky Blinders season 6 plot
Unlike previous chapters, the fifth season ended on a killer cliffhanger. Amidst the intensifying political tensions of the show’s pre-WW2 Britain, Tommy was left pointing a gun at his own head, now unable to outmaneuver his opponents where before his plans always found a solution when the end seemed nigh. The ability to outsmart any foe no matter how mighty has always been one of Tommy’s greatest appeals — no matter how wrong his actions appear (and often are), you always find yourself willing him to succeed.
Sir Oswald Mosley’s foiled assassination is probably the biggest unanswered question left by the last series. It’s further mystified by Michael and Gina, who together left Tommy with an ultimatum for the family business at the end of season 5 — are they, too, involved with the unsuccessful plot on Mosley? We’re not so sure.
Gina, brilliantly played by The Queen’s Gambit’s Anya Taylor-Joy, has always exuded a duplicitous presence in her every appearance in the series. Is she double-dealing with other criminal factions? How far is the scheming couple willing to go to oust Tommy from the Shelby Company Ltd and take full control? Suspicions have been dialed up to extreme levels, and it really has become a case of trust no one with the culmination of season 5.
There’s also the looming specter of the Blackshirts, with the first episode of season 6 called ‘Black Day’.
As for what comes next? We’re always a tad hesitant to speculate on the future of TV shows we love. It feels as though such comments could jinx things.
With that said, Knight has very clearly announced that the upcoming sixth series would be the last, but has also teased that “the story will continue in another form.”
In comments to Deadline: “My plan from the beginning was to end Peaky with a movie.”
A feature-length Peaky Blinders movie is an enthralling prospect, though there’s very little info beyond the above at the moment. Knight, of course, had previously planned for a seven-season run of the drama, which is set in post-World War One Birmingham. Maybe a feature-length Peaky outing is a happy medium between the pandemic-thwarted seventh season and one more story. We’ll have to wait and see.
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