Peaky Blinders To Return For Series 7 – And 8

It’s the revival we didn’t see coming: three years after the Peaky Blinders TV series wrapped up for good, it seems that a reboot is on the way after all, with the BBC revealing it has commissioned not one but two new series.

The news, which comes just as fans prepare for a sequel film on Netflix, is nothing short of a (happy) surprise. But what can we expect from Peaky Blinders season 7 and 8? Here’s everything we know so far.

Peaky Blinders Season 7: Plot, Cast, Release Date

‘I’m not allowed to announce it, but I’m just saying that the world of Peaky will continue,’ series creator Steven Knight told BBC Breakfast back in February 2025. Knight’s vague teasing gave nothing away – and with Netflix’s The Immortal Man sequel film in the works, most fans predicted that the Peaky Blinders story would live on via the big screen alone. Until now.

The BBC has officially confirmed it is working with Netflix to bring not just one but two more series of Peaky Blinders to the small screen. ‘This game-changing show made a huge impact when it first came to our screens 12 years ago and it is one of the BBC’s most-loved dramas,’ says Lindsay Salt, the BBC’s director of drama by way of explanation.

Creator Steven Knight (who has been pretty loose-lipped about the whole deal) says he is ‘thrilled’ to finally be announcing the continuation of his best-loved Shelby universe.

Rumours have been swirling since May when an unnamed source told The Sun that another season of the show was in the works. ‘The sixth series of Peaky Blinders was supposed to be the last and the movie was meant to be the final farewell for the story,’ they said. ‘But show boss Steven Knight couldn’t resist coming back to the story – his most famous creation – and he’s been dropping hints he wanted to return to do more.’

As with the upcoming film, the BBC has teamed up with Netflix for global distribution, with the streamer’s rep Mona Qureshi gushing: ‘Along with our global audience, we are ready to be captivated anew!’

Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby and Natasha O’Keeffe as Lizzie Shelby (© Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd./Robert Viglasky)

What Will Happen?

Peaky Blinders will once again take us back to Birmingham, but not as we know it. Season 6 wrapped up in 1934, but season 7 will open in 1953 in a Birmingham flattened by the WWII Blitz. (In between, the film will be set during WWII.)

Brummy locals are brimming with hope, building a better future out of concrete and steal; this is ‘the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz,’ Knight teases. But with this mass reconstruction project comes new competition – and a new generation of Shelbys is right at the heart of it.

Knight previously said he’d like to create a new branch of Peaky Blinders focused on a new generation, and now we know is dream is finally coming to fruition.

‘Steven has worked his magic once again and I can’t wait for his scripts to be brought to life when filming begins in Birmingham,’ the BBC’s Lindsay Salt adds. ‘There’s plenty of drama for Peaky fans to look forward to!’

While we don’t have any more clear plot details, we anticipate more of the period drama gore and gang violence we’ve come to know (and reluctantly love) from Peaky Blinders.

Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby (c) Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd. | Photographer: Matt Squire

Will Cillian Murphy Star?

With Peaky Blinders season 7 flashing forward two decades, it looks like Netflix’s upcoming Peaky Blinders movie The Immortal Man will mark the final appearance of Cillian Murphy’s iconic character Tommy Shelby.

Instead we will have a whole new generation of Shelbys to watch. Knight teases: ‘The new generation of Shelbys have taken the wheel and it will be a hell of a ride.’ After the events of season 6, we think Tommy’s illegitimate son Duke may well be at the fore.

That said, a source previously told The Sun Murphy’s character will indeed have a role to play in the new season, although as more of a ‘father figure’ to younger gang members. Perhaps a bit like former matriarch Polly Gray, who served a similar role from seasons 1 through 5.

But where will Tommy Shelby be at this point in his life? By the end of season 6 Shelby is in his mid-40s, and the same will be true of The Immortal Man which is set during the WWII years. But this upcoming reboot is set much later, in the 1950s, which could put Shelby anywhere between his late 50s and early 60s. So a more ‘parental authority’ figure could suit him in this case – with some special age-up makeup for the 49-year-old Murphy?

Other members of the original Peaky Blinders cast have not been confirmed to make a return – nor have any of the new actors who have been signed on to the film (including Saltburn star Barry Keoghan).

(L to R) Barry Keoghan and Cillian Murphy on the set of The Immortal Man (c) Netflix

Why Was Season 7 Of Peaky Blinders Originally Scrapped?

A seventh season of Peaky Blinders was originally planned by Knight, but the series creator explained that it was cancelled during production of season 6 – largely as a result of delays to filming from the Coronavirus pandemic.

‘The original intention was to do seven series, but COVID has stolen a year from us,’ he told BBC News in 2021, saying that the cancellation morphed into an opportunity for a feature film. ‘We felt what would be a great idea is to, almost in place of that seventh series, is to go onto the big screen.’

He also mentioned that the death of actress Helen McCrory, who played Polly Gray in the series, encouraged the team to speed along plans for a feature film. ‘We just felt, with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I’m calling “the end of the beginning”.

‘Let’s end the beginning, then let’s do the film. And then let’s see where we go in terms of spin-offs,’ he teased. And now we know what that spin-off idea will entail (at least the first spin-off): a sequel made up of at least two seasons.

(L to R) Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs, Natasha O’Keeffe as Lizzie Shelby, Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby and Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby (© Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd./Robert Viglasky)

What Is It Based On?

While much of the stories, characters and narrative details we see play out on screen have been embellished and dramatised for viewers, there is some truth to Peaky Blinders.

There was indeed a real life Peaky Blinders gang who were based in Birmingham, UK. The group, which was made up of young criminals from lower and working class backgrounds (just like the Shelbys), were known to have engaged in several forms of crime – including robbery, violence, racketeering, illegal bookmaking and control of gambling. (Sounds familiar.) They also typically wore tailored jackets, buttoned waistcoats, leather boots and flat caps. (Very familiar.)

But this is where the similarities end. The group worked the streets of Birmingham long before the events of Peaky Blinders; dates suggest sometime between the 1880s and 1920s, while the show starts in the 1920s. There was no Tommy Shelby, nor any Shelby family that held monopoly over criminal movements in the area.

Although it’s interesting to note that, while the Peaky Blinders gang had dissolved by the 1920s (thanks to a scuffle with the Birmingham Boys, another gang led by Billy Kimber – who also featured in the TV show), the name ‘Peaky Blinders’ soon became a slang term to refer to any street gang in Birmingham.

Rather than cast a negative light on the industrial city, Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker instead praises the ‘worldwide phenomenon’ for boosting Birmingham’s ‘tourism and global reach’. On season 7, Parker added: ‘We’re proud to be working with the team bringing the production back to the Shelbys’ home of Birmingham and job opportunities will follow for local people to become part of this story. It’s this sort of backing from some of the biggest names in entertainment that will turn the West Midlands into the creative capital of the UK.’

Release Date

Peaky Blinders season 7 is set to be filmed at Digbeth Loc. Studios in Birmingham, but it is yet to get underway despite rumours it would kick off in summer 2025. In that case, we don’t think we will see Peaky Blinders season 7 until 2027 at the earliest.

As for the film, filming wrapped on The Immortal Man in December 2024 though a release date is still TBC. Originally slated for 2025, insiders are now saying the film will land on Netflix in 2026. Stay tuned for more.

All six seasons of Peaky Blinders are available to stream on BBC iPlayer and Netflix in the UK, and Netflix across the globe.

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