Peaky Blinders (2013-2022) is one of the most visually distinctive British crime dramas ever made. Created by Steven Knight, it follows the Shelby family's rise from small-time gang to criminal empire with reach extending across three continents. Over six seasons it became BBC's most globally successful export and launched Cillian Murphy to the front rank of world cinema.
Cillian Murphy — A Slow-Burning Masterclass
Murphy's Tommy Shelby is one of television's great central characters — a man damaged by the First World War, brilliant beyond his circumstances, possessed of a strategic mind that sees twelve moves ahead of everyone. Murphy plays him with extraordinary stillness: the less he does, the more menacing he becomes. His finest moments come when the armour cracks — the occasional flash of trauma underneath, the grief for his dead wife surfacing through carefully maintained composure.
The Supporting Cast
Helen McCrory as Polly Gray — matriarch, strategist, and the one person with moral authority to challenge Tommy — was one of British television's finest performances. Her real-life death between seasons left a wound the final series never fully healed. Tom Hardy's Alfie Solomons is one of television's great recurring guest characters — unpredictable, funny, and genuinely dangerous.
The Music: A Character in Itself
The opening credits set to Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand" established the show's sonic identity immediately. The choice to use contemporary music — particularly Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds — was a bold creative decision that became one of the show's most recognisable signatures.
Final Verdict
Peaky Blinders is not a perfect drama — it occasionally gets lost in its own mythology. But at its best it is among the finest British television ever produced. Murphy's performance alone would be enough to recommend it. Everything around him makes it essential.
mnioszn Rating: 8.8 / 10
