Peaky Blinders: Showrunner Explaining The Changes of Season 6
Stephen Knight explains why he changed his original plan for the end of Season 6 of Peaky Blinders and decided to bypass World War II.
Stephen Knight, creator, and showrunner of the hit historical series Peaky Blinders reveals how he changed the series' original ending to "keep it going" beyond what was initially intended. Knight, who also wrote for the BBC's The Detectives and Taboo, created the series in 2013 to follow the exploits of the Shelby crime family between World Wars I and II. The meteoric rise of Thomas "Tommy" Shelby of Murphy and his relatives up the British social and economic ladder. Having started as an ex-soldier and petty street thug, season five of Peaky Blinders saw Tommy climb even further as he was elected to the British Parliament.
Season 6 of Peaky Blinders, which premiered on BBC One in February and is set to hit Netflix in June, aims to serve as the show's final season, though it has been confirmed that it will be followed by a spin-off. And received a huge number of awards and a big number of loyal fans, the show had a tangible impact on British culture, as confirmed by the UK Office for National Statistics.
Speaking about the future of the Peaky Blinders franchise, Knight took the opportunity earlier this year to speak with Empire and explain his decision to move away from his original plan to end the story before the start of World War II. By saying that there is "the energy in the world for this," he pushes the story beyond its original limits "to see how [the show] can progress beyond that." Check out his full comments below:
Britain was always between wars - how the lesson of one war was not learned and repeated. It's also the end of the empire: we've entered World War II and by its end, there is no empire. You will now enter World War II and beyond. Because I only think the energy in the world is for this, I want to keep it going, and I want to see how this can progress beyond that.
The changing scope and incorporation of World War II isn't the only unexpected change in direction the show has seen in its final season and beyond. Sadly, Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory, who played the family's wife Aunt Polly, passed away while filming Season 6. While British fans have already learned how the show deals with her absence, it certainly presented Nate and the show's creative team with a huge challenge to overcome.
But by all accounts, the reviews do praise the sensitive and thoughtful way in which you handled Polly's absence from Season 6 of Peaky Blinders. The scope of the show in World War II would be managed with relative ease. Meanwhile, fans of the Peaky Blinders based outside of the UK will still have to wait a few more months before they can catch up on the adventures of the Shelbys in Season 6 when new episodes finally hit Netflix.
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