It's Birmingham, 1919, and things are a bit messy in the aftermath of World War I. There's a sense of lawlessness settling in, and one particular family is taking good advantage: the Shelbys. Led by Thomas (Cillian Murphy), they've created a powerful, feared local gang, called the Peaky Blinders, named for their practice of sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps. They make their money from illegal betting, protection, and the black market, and Detective Inspector Chester Campbell, played by Sam Neill, is determined to quash their activities.
Sent over from Belfast to sort out the slums of Birmingham by a young Winston Churchill (Andy Nyman), Campbell is a bit of a fish out of water at first, but he's got a determined puritanical streak that rarely wavers.
But Tommy has a determined streak too - he's an ambitious fellow, not content with simply running a street gang, and when a crate of guns goes missing from an arms factory, he recognises an opportunity to move up in the world. Crime pays, but business pays better.
That's the premise of this new six-part British series, which received rave reviews when it first aired in the UK late last year, and has added Tom Hardy and Noah Taylor to the cast for the second season.
It has a soundtrack featuring music from the White Stripes and Nick Cave and has been called intelligent, stylish, sharp, and engrossing on both sides of the Atlantic - another example of film stars embracing television because of the long-form storytelling possibilities, meaty character development, and high production values.
