‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6 Premiere Sets Series Launch Record In UK

Nancy Tartaglione
·2 min read
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The highly-anticipated Season 6 premiere of period gangster epic Peaky Blinders was watched by 3.8 million viewers in the UK on Sunday, according to overnight figures. That makes it the biggest launch for the Shelby clan ever, coming in above the Season 5 debut’s 3.7 million overnight average. It also ties the series record previously set by the Season 5 finale in September 2019. The market share was 21.8% on Sunday with a peak of 4.1 million viewers. The episode faced strong competition from the season finale of ITV drama Trigger Point which ended up winning the 9pm slot.

Airing on the UK’s BBC One, ahead of the global Netflix release which is as-yet undated, the first episode of Peaky’s sixth and final season was dedicated to the memory of Helen McCrory who passed away last year after a battle with cancer. The episode also revealed how creator Steven Knight, director Anthony Byrne and the producers handled the fate of McCrory’s Aunt Polly — a key figure in the Shelby family. (See here for a recap of the episode, but beware spoilers.)

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Season 6 is the last run of the Cillian Murphy-led drama in series form. However, Knight confirmed to us over the weekend that a movie is definitely going to happen with the same players. (Read our interview with Knight and executive producer Caryn Mandabach here, and again, beware spoilers.)

In Season 6, Murphy’s Tommy Shelby will square off with various foes, but the most formidable enemy he has is himself. Also returning are Tom Hardy, Paul Anderson, Finn Cole, Anya Taylor-Joy, Natasha O’Keeffe and Sophie Rundle, among others. Stephen Graham and James Frecheville will also appear.

Peaky Blinders began airing on BBC Two in 2013 and went on to win the BAFTA for Best Drama in its fourth season. It then moved to BBC One in 2019 and has continued to grow its rabid fanbase. Executive producers are Caryn Mandabach, Steven Knight, Jamie Glazebrook, David Mason, Anthony Byrne and Cillian Murphy.

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