Robert Viglasky/Caryn Mandabach Productions/BBCMore than 18 months since the end of season four, season five of Peaky Blinders finally has a release date.
Tommy Shelby, Arthur, Aunt Pol, Aberama Gold and the gang will officially be returning to our screens at 9pm (BST) on Sunday, August 25 on BBC One.
The new season is set to introduce a host of new characters, as Tommy makes his way to Westminster in his new role as an MP. While the introduction of Sam Claflin’s ‘charismatic politician’ means Tommy’s battles might be a bit different to his run-in with the mafia during season four. Tommy’s work in London also means his brothers Arthur and Finn are left to rule the roost in Birmingham, which will undoubtedly yield some explosive results.
You can watch the trailer for season five here:
The drama, which started in 2013, also makes the jump from BBC Two to BBC One this year, after its cult status has grown immeasurably.
Explaining the move, Director of BBC Content Charlotte Moore said:
Peaky Blinders is world class drama at the top of its game and the time has arrived for it to move to the UK’s biggest channel.
Steven Knight’s epic storytelling is authentic and utterly compelling and I want to give it the chance to be enjoyed by an even broader audience on BBC One.
We couldn’t have asked for a better response to series four and the impact it had with young audiences. This move will also give BBC Two more creative headroom to experiment with new drama.
Robert Viglasky/Caryn Mandabach Productions/BBCSpeaking about the show’s success and subsequent move to BBC One, writer Steven Knight added:
I am thrilled that our precious Peaky Blinders is moving to BBC One. Peaky is a show nurtured and grown by the audience who have found us through word of mouth. Hopefully this move will help us reach even more people.
Knight also recently told Radio Times the new season is ‘the best series yet, for all sorts of reasons […] there’s a lot of conflict happening’.
A conflict with Claflin’s Oswald Mosley? It’s highly likely. As Peaky Blinders enters the 1930s, everyone’s favourite gang will face the Great Depression, the rise of Fascism, and the corridors of power in Westminster.
The good news is there’s now only a few weeks before we finally find out how Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby is going to handle it all.
Season five of Peaky Blinders will air on BBC One from Sunday, August 25, at 9pm.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.