The BBC has announced Peaky Blinders is ending after series 6, despite original plans for it to go on longer
Although the immediate message is clear, ie Peaky Blinders is ending, the story gets a little murkier. The announcement starts with
The forthcoming sixth series of Peaky Blinders will be the last, writer and creator Steven Knight has confirmed.
The BBC crime drama has resumed filming after being hit by Covid-related production delays.
Knight said the show is “back with a bang” and warned fans that the mobsters would face “extreme jeopardy” in the sixth and final season. He then teased that while the TV series is coming to an end, “the story will continue in another form“.
How do we unpack that?
Rewind back to 2018
Back before series 5, Knight had this to say:
“My ambition is to make it a story of a family between two wars. I’ve wanted to end it with the first air raid siren in Birmingham in 1939. It’ll take three more series to reach that point.”
This makes it clear he was considering seven series and given the show’s popularity, we can’t imagine the BBC has dropped interest, besides it’s also very popular on Netflix. There have been rumours even before today’s announcement. We don’t see this referring to books or comics, so what’s left?
Peaky Blinders ending — but only as a TV series?
The BBC statement mentions speculation about a possible Peaky Blinders movie. If we take that along with the Netflix angle, could there be a Peaky Blinders movie coming to Netflix, perhaps in 2023? Of course, series 6 has been impacted by Covid-19 so the small screen return has been delayed. Do fans want a movie instead of a series? If it’s that or nothing we suspect they’ll take what they get. Until then we’ll keep you posted. You can read the BBC’s statement here.