What drama will the Peaky Blinders gang stir up next? Creator Steven Knight recently spoke to the BBC about what fans can expect from the upcoming third season.
The British series stars Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, the head of a 1920s Birmingham gang. The first two seasons are available on Netflix in the United States.
In the interview, Knight said Tommy continues to grapple with his level of success:
Tommy’s trajectory is always upwards, but it’s never smooth and never simple. He has to do things at the request of some very powerful people and all of it illegal as ever. The consequence of his success will be huge. Already he has made a lot of money and his living standard is unrecognisable from when we first met him at the beginning of series one and that trajectory will continue. His is a cash business and he is converting that cash into objects.”
He added that “power” will be the dominating theme of season three:
The themes that are prevalent are power, the abuse of power, and the effect that power has on Tommy and the family. It is also about how everyone is trying to escape where they are. It’s a question of, are any of them able to escape? Can any of them get away from their past, the history, and in a sense their destiny? It’s about aspiration and if you look at it sociologically, it’s about people from the working classes in England and can they ever – no matter how much money or material wealth they have accumulated – ever escape where they are from.”
Also, Knight said fans can expect a “big fight” during the premiere episode, which is set at Tommy’s wedding:
Tommy’s wedding is a typical Birmingham wedding – a big fight and a family dispute. I like the idea of kicking everything off together in the same place and weddings are great for that and technically it is a great way to meet the family again. I wanted to explore the idea of when business meets family, which has essentially been what Peaky Blinders has been about right from the beginning. Can the two be separated? What we see in this series is how the two collide.”
Season three of Peaky Blinders premieres today, May 5th, in the UK. It will be released in the United States on Netflix on May 31st.
What do you think? Do you watch Peaky Blinders? What do you hope happens in season three?
