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The British period crime drama series Peaky Blinders, created by Steven Knight, is based in Birmingham. The show is inspired by a real group of young men of the same name who lived in the city from the 1880s to the 1910s. It recounts the atrocities carried out by the Peaky Blinders gang just after World War I.
The first season of Peaky Blinders, as depicted on Netflix, takes place in 1919, and Tommy Shelby (portrayed by Cillian Murphy) is riding a horse through Birmingham's muddy, unpaved streets in his first scene.
World War I ended after four brutal years in the trenches, bringing a new era. A decade later, at the end of season 5, it's 1929, and Tommy's preferred vehicle is a Bentley. He represents his community as an MP in Parliament.
The show tells the story of the interwar years in Britain, profound social and economic transformation, and the ascent of the Shelby family's wealth. As more women join the workforce and demand a voice in their future and the ability to vote, inflexible class structures start to erode, and new ideologies gain traction.
Every season is based on actual events, even if most characters and storylines are fictional. For example, Winston Churchill and Sir Oswald Mosley are real-life personalities who interact with Tommy and his family to influence the story.
Exploring the different timelines of Peaky Blinders
Birmingham served as the setting for the show's first season, set about a year after World War I ended in 1919. The show's post-war setting is one of its most crucial elements. Following their return home, Tommy, Arthur, and John all suffer from varying degrees of PTSD, which affects them and stays with them throughout the entire series.
Season 1: The end of World War I set around 1919
As the war ended, Tommy Shelby and his brothers, along with millions of men, returned to Birmingham after four years of service in France. However, upon their return, they were exposed to an entirely new society, where women had entered the workforce, and the social and economic unrest had increased.
Tommy Shelby also decides to grow the family business, but the gang unintentionally takes a shipment of weaponry. Winston Churchill feared that they could get into the hands of the more radical Irish Republican Army (IRA) and be used against the government, so he dispatched Chief Inspector Chester Campbell (Sam Neill) to collect them.
This is how Grace, the undercover spy played by Isabelle Wallis, ends up working at The Garrison pub and informing Campbell about Tommy's whereabouts. But everything is up in the air as the two fall in love in Peaky Blinders.
Season 2: A Split within the IRA in 1921
The show's second season leaps ahead to 1921 when the Anglo-Irish Treaty ended Ireland's War of Independence. Tommy finds himself caught up in the IRA division that resulted from the war's conclusion.
Prohibition has also reached its peak by this point. Tommy starts a business partnership with Alfie Solomons, a manufacturer of illicit alcohol. Tommy then resells those funds in America for a hefty premium.
Season 3: The first labour government in 1924
According to the timeline, Peaky Blinders season 3 begins with Tommy and Grace's wedding in 1924. Regretfully, their union is short-lived, as Grace meets her demise in the second installment. This is when ultra-conservative groups started gaining traction due to growing anti-communist sentiment.
Tommy faces threats from the Economist League, headed by Father John Hughes, who wants to use blackmail to get him to assist the Russian aristocracy in toppling the 1922 Soviet government. Tommy also starts romantically seeing Duchess Tatiana Petrovny.
Season 4: Women on Strike in 1926
In Peaky Blinders season 4, most of the action occurs in 1926. Luca Changretta and the New York mafia target the Shelby family for the killings they carried out a year before. By the end of the first episode, they've succeeded in killing John.
This season, Italian-American mobster Al Capone is even mentioned. Meanwhile, Jessie Eden organized a strike to demand equal rights for women and improved working conditions.
Season 5: The Wall Street Crash of 1929
The events depicted in Peaky Blinders season 5 start with the 1929 stock market crash, which sent the US economy into the Great Depression. Tommy loses a significant amount of money due to Michael's refusal to remove Shelby's funds from equities once it is too late.
Tommy is a Labour Party member of parliament during this season. He starts to disagree with Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists.
Season 6: End of Prohibition in 1933
The sixth season jumps to 1933. Tommy travels to Miquelon Island on the day of Prohibition's repeal, where the irate residents are bracing themselves for the impending economic catastrophe of being unable to sell illicit alcohol in the United States. Throughout the season, there are veiled allusions to the impending Second World War and the development of fascism in Britain.
After a decade on screen, the show finally ended with season 6. All episodes are available to stream on Netflix.
