In 2013, Peaky Blinders premiered on BBC and has gained additional fans through its availability on Netflix. Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, has given some insight into what fans can expect from the upcoming sixth and final season of the series.
Over its five-season run on BBC, Peaky Blinders has received a number of BAFTA nominations. The series stars Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle, Joe Cole, Finn Cole, Tom Hardy, and a number of others as they deal with the repercussions of the first World War in England.
In speaking with Empire, Knight spoke of his writing process for the sixth season of Peaky Blinders and admitted that his original plans on the series' ending have changed. "It was always Britain between the wars - how the lesson from one war was not learned and was repeated," Knight said. "It's also the end of the empire: we enter the Second World War and by the end of it, there is no empire really. But I...have revised the scope of what it is. It will now go beyond the Second World War." Knight went on to explain, “Because I think the energy that is out there in the world for this, I want to keep it going, and I want to see how this can progress beyond that.” While Peaky Blinders will continue on the big screen after its final season, Knight considers “this sixth series as the end of the beginning.”
As the creator of Peaky Blinders, it’s impossible to say that Knight never had an idea of where the series would end. However, he admits that his writing process is not definite. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen until I get to writing,” Knight said. “The way I tend to work is not to plan, and if I think if I did plan, I wouldn’t be able to do it.” For Knight, the writing process relies on his knowledge of the characters and environment he created in Peaky Blinders. “Just sit at the keyboard and if you know the characters well enough, let ‘em loose and see what they say to each other,” Knight said. “Let the dialogue guide the plot.”
Peaky Blinders' previous season ended on a rather ambiguous note, as the series’ lead character, Thomas Shelby (Murphy), screamed into the air as he held a pistol to his head, still haunted by his late wife Grace. Following the failed assassination attempt of Oswald Mosley, a figure within the Fascist Party, Thomas struggles to see how he will come out on top of his enemies as he always has. Unlike previous occurrences, Thomas doesn’t even have his family to firmly rely on.
This sixth season of Peaky Blinders will feel different outside its thematic tone. After suffering delays in production due to COVID-19, Peaky Blinders finally began filming in early 2021. A few months later, McCrory, who portrayed Polly Gray, one of the focal women in the series, passed away after a battle with cancer. It’s unclear if Polly will appear in the final season at all, but given the role that her character often played in keeping the Shelbys in line, McCrory’s absence will certainly be felt.
Peaky Blinders is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: Empire