Here’s Your First Look At Netflix’s Upcoming Guinness Drama

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House of Guinness will premiere at the end of September

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If there’s a buzzy stout of the last few years, decades, centuries – it can only be Guinness. Originating in 18th century Dublin, the dark-hued drink with its iconic creamy white head has a cult following, with fans ever-desperate to find the perfect pour (and split the G). Now part of Diageo – one of the UK’s largest multinational alcohol brands, also behind the likes of Smirnoff, Baileys, Captain Morgan and Gordon’s – the stout brand started life as a family business, founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759. Merging with Grand Metropolitan in 1996, a Guinness held the company’s chairman position until 1986, passing through the family until then. But a real power struggle ensued after the death of Benjamin Guinness, the grandson of Arthur – and this is set to be the subject of a new Netflix series. Here’s everything we know so far about House of Guinness.

Benjamin (Fionn O’Shea), Edward (Louis Partridge), Arthur (Anthony Boyle) & Anne Guinness (Emily Fairn) in House of Guinness. (© Netflix)

House of Guinness: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

From Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight comes the historical, Succession-style series, House of Guinness. Filmed in Stockport, Manchester and Liverpool in summer 2024, the series was first announced last spring, and will trace the true story of one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties, the Guinness family.

Whisking us back to 19th-century Dublin and New York, much like Succession, House of Guinness will open with the dynasty’s future at stake upon the death of its patriarch. But while Logan Roy (Brian Cox) clung on for all four seasons of the show, Benjamin Guinness is well and truly dead. So who will take up his post?

Often credited with boosting the success of the Guinness brand, Benjamin is the grandson of Guinness founder Arthur, and the third Guinness patriarch to head up the company. With four children – Arthur (Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge), Anne (Emily Fairn) and Benjamin (Fionn O’Shea) – left in his wake, House of Guinness will explore Benjamin’s far-reaching impact on the fate of their lives, as well as the lives of a group of Dubliners who work and interact with the growing juggernaut.

Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness in House of Guinness. (© Netflix)

‘The Guinness dynasty is known the world over – wealth, poverty, power, influence, and great tragedy are all intertwined to create a rich tapestry of material to draw from,’ series creator Knight said. ‘I’ve always been fascinated by their stories and am excited to bring the characters to life for the world to see.

‘House of Guinness is the extraordinary story of a family who happens to be the inheritors of the biggest brewery in the world,’ he adds. ‘They’re young and are given the task of taking on this incredibly successful brand. The first priority is: Don’t screw it up. And the second priority is to make Guinness even bigger.’

James Norton as Sean Rafferty in House of Guinness. (© Netflix)

The Cast

Despite not portraying a Guinness, James Norton was one of the first stars spotted filming House of Guinness in Manchester – and he’s joined by a stellar cast of actors including Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson and Dervla Kirwan. ‘James was our first choice, like a lot of the cast,’ Knight says. His character, Sean Rafferty, ‘is one of the most extraordinary aspects of this series. His relationship with the family depicts how modern the story actually is,’ Knight says.

But our leading Guinness quartet is formed of younger, less established stars – and if they seem familiar, here’s why. Irish actor Anthony Boyle is the eldest Guinness son, Arthur, having starred in Shardlake, Manhunt, and Masters of the Air, as well as playing a pivotal role in Disney’s Troubles drama, Say Nothing. He’s joined by on-screen brother Edward, played by Louis Partridge – known at just 22 for roles in Enola Holmes (2020), Disclaimer and Paddington 2 (2017), as well as for playing a starring role in pop star Olivia Rodrigo‘s personal life as her beau.

Danielle Galligan as Lady Olivia Hedges & Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness in House of Guinness. (© Netflix)

According to Knight, Arthur and Edward are the ‘heart’ of the series: ‘I won’t give away the plot — but they were given joint stewardship of the brewery for very interesting reasons. Before he died, their father very deliberately chained Arthur and Edward together in responsibility for the brewery. You’ll find out why when you watch.’

Next on the bill is Emily Fairn who plays Anne Plunket – the Shiv of the Guinness clan. Aged 26, she’s recognisable for roles in The Responder, Elicit (2023) and Saturday Night (2024). Finally we have Fionn O’Shea, better known across the Irish Sea but notable in Britain for portraying Marianne’s toxic boyfriend Jamie in Normal People.

Fionn O’Shea as Benjamin Guinness in House of Guinness

The full House of Guinness cast is as follows:

Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness
Louis Partridge as Edward Guinness
Emily Fairn as Anne Plunket (née Guinness)
Fionn O’Shea as Benjamin Guinness
James Norton as Sean Rafferty
Dervla Kirwan as Aunt Agnes Guinness
Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges
Niamh McCormack as Ellen Cochrane
Danielle Galligan as Lady Olivia Hedges
Ann Skelly as Adelaide Guinness
Seamus O’Hara as Patrick Cochrane
Michael McElhatton as John Potter
David Wilmot as Bonnie Champion
Michael Colgan as Rev Henry Gratton
Jessica Reynolds as Lady Christine O’Madden
Hilda Fay as Sultan
Elizabeth Dulau as Lady Henrietta St Lawrence

Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges in House of Guinness

Who Was Benjamin Guinness?

Born in 1798, Benjamin was the grandson of Arthur Guinness, who founded Guinness in 1759, and the third son of Arthur II Guinness and his wife Anne Lee. Rather than attending university, Benjamin joined his father in the business in his late teens. Flash forward to 1839 and he had sole control of the company – and jump again to 1855, when Arthur II passed away, and he was the richest man in Ireland.

Under Benjamin, Guinness became a global brand, with sales jumping from 78,000 hogsheads in 1855 to 206,000 hogsheads by 1865. Meanwhile, he invested heavily in Ireland, restoring St Patrick’s Cathedral, working as a philanthropist and funding Irish archaeological projects. To facilitate his growing brand, Benjamin invested in Irish railway companies in the 1840s, with the brand owning £86,000 worth of Irish railway stock by 1867. By 1865, he was also working as an MP for Dublin City. In thanks for all of his varied philanthropy, he was made Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1851, and a baronet in 1867.

In his personal life, Benjamin married his cousin Elizabeth Guinness in 1837, the two sharing four children: Arthur, Edward, Anne and Benjamin. Upon his death in 1868, his eldest son, Arthur III, succeeded in the baronetcy, taking control of the company with his brother Edward (Benjamin’s third son). When Arthur III died childless in 1915, the baronetcy was taken by Benjamin II’s son Algernon – and it is from Algernon that today’s Guinness Baronets descend.