'Peaky Blinders' Two Season Order Will Usher in a New Era

By the order of the Peaky Blinders, we're going back to Birmingham. Again. 

After months of rumors, the BBC and Netflix have confirmed that the popular gangland historical drama will return to our screens for not one but two new seasons. Though this run of new episodes will follow the forthcoming Peaky feature film, titled The Immortal Man, it will catapult the series's story the better part of a decade into the future and introduce a new generation of protagonists to follow along the way. 

Filming wrapped last year on the long-planned movie, which will see Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) reprise his role as gang leader Tommy Shelby (presumably for the last time). Details about its story are scarce, but it will reportedly follow the Shelbys through the events of World War II. The new seasons of the TV show will jump forward in time to 1953, and a Birmingham that's still struggling to dig itself out from the ruins of the Blitz. And a new generation of the family is there to take advantage of the opportunities available in the city's rebirth.  

“I’m thrilled to be announcing this new chapter in the Peaky Blinders story," creator Steven Knight said in a statement. "Once again, it will be rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz. The new generation of Shelbys have taken the wheel, and it will be a hell of a ride.

Of course, we have no idea at the moment just who these new seasons will focus on. There are plenty of options, some of which may well depend on what happens in the Peaky movie that none of us have seen yet. But Tommy, Arthur, John, and Ada all had children who would be adults by the 1950s, which makes them ideal candidates to take over the roles their parents once played in the family business. 

Here's the synopsis for the series return. 

Britain, 1953. After being heavily bombed in WWII, Birmingham is building a better future out of concrete and steel. In a new era of Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, the race to own Birmingham’s massive reconstruction project becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions. This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and danger: with the Shelby family right at its blood-soaked heart.

There are no casting details about these upcoming seasons yet, which makes sense given that there's very little information about the characters that might be involved in the show. (Some of that might also be connected to events that will be depicted in The Immortal Man. 

“This game-changing show made a huge impact when it first came to our screens 12 years ago and it is one of the BBC’s most-loved dramas," Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said. "Steven has worked his magic once again and I can’t wait for his scripts to be brought to life when filming begins in Birmingham. We are delighted to be working with Kudos, Garrison Drama, and Netflix on this epic show. There’s plenty of drama for Peaky fans to look forward to!”

“We couldn’t be more excited to be embarking on a new chapter of Peaky Blinders with our wonderful partners at Kudos, Garrison Drama and the BBC," Mona Qureshi of Netflix added. "There are few modern storytellers to match Steven Knight and we will be on the edge of our seats as he returns to the streets of Birmingham and to the next generation of the Shelby family. Along with our global audience, we are ready to be captivated anew!”

The new seasons of Peaky Blinders will be filmed at Digbeth Loc. Studios in Birmingham. Seasons 1-6 are currently available to stream on Netflix.