Irish director Anthony Byrne has been named as the director for Peaky Blinders series 5. This is one of the few shows that maintains a strong directorial voice over the course of a season: Otto Bathurst and Tom Harper shared the episode load on series 1, Colm McCarthy shot every instalment of series 2, Tim Mielants helmed series 3, and David Caffrey filmed series 4.
As Byrne steps in to shoot every episode of Peaky Blinders series 5, he brings a lot of a experience with him. He previously directed episodes of Ripper Street, The Last Kingdom, Mr Selfridge and Silent Witness. He also shoots feature films, including the thriller In Darkness, which is due out later this year. In Darkness stars Natalie Dormer, Byrne’s real-life fiancee.
It remains to be seen exactly what Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby and the rest of the Peaky Blinders will be up to in series 5 of the show, but presumably, Byrne will find some fresh ways to put his own directorial stamp on proceedings.
Peaky Blinders series 5 is expected to arrive in 2019. As ever, the show will air on BBC Two in the UK and Netflix in the USA.
We’ll bring you more news as and when it happens.