Much-loved gangster series Peaky Blinders is back filming this month and Instagram made the news very clear with the most obvious imagery possible, Tommy Shelby’s series 6 haircut. The photo sent fans into a frenzy, followed by a string of more posts from Peaky’s official Instagram page, confirming filming on series 6 was officially underway.

Image: PeakyBlindersOfficial via Instagram

What is Peaky Blinders?
I started watching Peaky Blinders in 2019. For some reason, I wasn’t aware of this incredible series before then, but as soon as I caught the first instalment of series 5 I very quickly binge-watched the whole catalogue. For those who have never seen it, Peaky is a post WWI drama, focused on a family of gangsters in Birmingham beginning in the year 1919. The show is a period drama set to current music and to grasp the magnitude of the show you really need to see it to believe it. Cillian Murphy stars as Tommy Shelby, a now truly iconic TV character and leader of the Peaky Blinders gang. Helen McCrory plays his Aunt Pol, a savage yet brilliantly intimidating character. You’ll also see appearances from Tom Hardy, Adrian Brody, Anya Taylor-Joy and Sam Claflin across various series, for the cast alone it’s worth watching.

The Sixth and Final Series
As the highly-anticipated series went into production last week, Peaky’s official website announced it would instead be starting production on its sixth and final series, then continue ‘in another form’. Fans were in dismay at the unexpected announcement, as a seventh series was once upon a time confirmed by creator Steven Knight. Speaking to Deadline last week, he said “Covid changed our plans. But I can say that my plan from the beginning was to end Peaky with a movie. That is what is going to happen.”

I for one am now excited at the prospect of a Peaky film. While it may not be the six, one-hour episodes fans want to see in a final series seven, who knows what a film-scale Peaky world will look like?

Behind the Scenes
Working within the film and TV industry, you get to learn lots of bits and bobs that the public doesn’t already know. Of course, the company I work for wouldn’t share any information about any upcoming productions they’re working on until they’re released. However, I do know of people currently working on casting for the show, which I have to admit is very cool.

When it comes to getting involved in a fan-favourite like Peaky Blinders, I’d recommend signing up with a background casting agency. Chances are if you live near the filming locations you may be contacted and offered an extra role on the current series.

Image: BBC ONE

British TV at it’s best
To me, Peaky is the height of epic television, and British TV at it’s best. Working on a small budget but providing huge production value, there’s still nothing like it on TV, almost 10 years since it started. The stellar cast, beautiful cinematography and brilliant writing makes it a stand-out British show to thousands of fans across the world. Surprisingly, to date Peaky has only won a string of awards, mainly voted for by the public, which has its fans raging with dismay. Will series 6 be the one to take home those big accolades, or will we have to wait for a movie to see it showered with praise? That is unknown, but one thing is for certain, I cannot wait for the new series to air and see what happens to Tommy Shelby next.

While series 6 won’t air for a considerable amount of time, there is no time like the present to become immersed in the world of Peaky Blinders. Catch series 1-5 on BBC iPlayer and Netflix now.