‘House of Guinness’: Everything You Need to Know About the Upcoming Series from the Creator of ‘Peaky Blinders’

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is set to bring an iconic family to life in his newest project House of Guinness. While the excitement is building, the upcoming show is still in active development, so many details are still scarce. But if the show’s description can tell viewers something, it’s that it will be an emotional rollercoaster ride!

Here’s everything we know so far about House of Guinness.

A New Series From Peaky Blinders Creator

Netflix has announced a new upcoming series called House of Guinness. The upcoming series is created by Steven Knight, best known for creating Peaky Blinders. It was first announced at the Next on Netflix event in London in early March 2024.

“We are beyond thrilled to be working with Kudos and the incredible Steven Knight to bring the story of the Guinness family to Netflix audiences,” said Netflix UK’s Vice President of Content Anne Mensah. “It has all the power of Peaky Blinders but the scale and the sweep of a true family saga. Set in the UK and the US, we cannot wait to see this realized.”

“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,” said Knight. “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 full of mystery, intrigue, and drama and we’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing it to Netflix audiences around the globe,” said executive producer Karen Wilson. “This epic and fascinating story about one of the greatest dynasties of the world will have audiences captivated, and I can’t think of anyone better to bring it to life than the brilliant Steven Knight.”

Knight is also writing the episodes of House of Guinness. Tom Shankland and Mounia Akl will be directing. House of Guinness is produced by Knight, Wilson, Elinor Day, and Martin Haines for Kudos. Cahal Bannon and Howard Burch also serve as producers.

The Plot

The description from Netflix on House of Guinness reads:

“House of Guinness will tell the epic story of one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties – The Guinness Family. Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the story will focus on the consequences of the death of Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery, and the far-reaching impact of his cunning will on the fate of his four adult children: Arthur, Edward, Anna, and Ben, as well as on a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the growing juggernaut that is Guinness.”

Benjamin Guinness is the grandson of Arthur Guinness, who bought the St. James Gate brewery in 1759.

In an interview with Screenrant in November 2023, Knight talked about adapting the novel of which All The Light We Cannot See was based. Knight adapted the novel into a screenplay by Anthony Doerr.

“I believe that the text, the novel itself, is the thing. To quote Shakespeare, ‘The play is the thing.’ This is the object that needs to be interpreted. And so there wasn’t a great deal of back and forth between Anthony and myself. It was a handover of the material,” said Knight.

The Cast

Because the project is still in active development, there haven’t been any casting announcements yet. Audiences will have to wait and see as the upcoming show continues to be developed.

In the Screenrant interview, Knight described the process of translating the characters from the source material to the screen for All the Light We Cannot See.

“…The important thing for me was that I needed to know the characters he created well enough to be able to set them free to do things that they didn’t do in the book so that you can be confident that is what Marie would’ve done, that is what Werner would’ve done. And if you feel safe in that, then I think you are liberated. Because I think an adaptation shouldn’t just be taking the bones from this creature and placing it in a different light. It’s got to have its own life, its own energy, and its own oxygen,” said Knight.

What to Expect

Other than the plot for House of Guinness, there isn’t much to speculate on what viewers can expect. What is known is that the upcoming Netflix series will have eight episodes that each run for one hour.

As the film will focus on the iconic family, there’s a chance that iconic Guinness locations will be used in the show. According to the Irish Independent, they may film at the Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park, for example.

Separately, in a 2023 interview with Radio Times, Knight plans on having his home city and the Midlands to benefit from his productions. While this was referring to the upcoming Peaky Blinders film, there’s a chance that it might apply to House of Guinness too.

“There are so many elements to the city that I’m keen to get out there. There has always been an appreciation of the arts among – for want of a better expression – working-class people here, so this is continuing that tradition. I’m having meetings with the CBSO as well,” said Knight at the time. Knight was referring to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

House of Guinness Release Date Speculation

There’s no official release date yet for House of Guinness. The upcoming show is scheduled to film in the United Kingdom under the working title “The Guinness Saga.” If filming begins in the summer of 2024, then viewers can look forward to a release date in late 2025 or 2026.

Meanwhile, Knight is currently wrapping up the sixth season of Peaky Blinders. With the movie in the works, Knight has confirmed that Cillian Murphy would be returning for the feature film. In 2023, Knight told Radio Times that he was working on the “final bits” of the Peaky Blinders film script.

“I’m just working on the final bits of it at the moment,” Knight said at the time. “I just sit down at the keyboard and start. It’s a bit like having a dream, for me. You sit there and all this stuff comes and then you read it back and think, ‘That’s pretty good – but where did it come from?’ The plan is to start shooting that in the middle of next year.”

Knight’s other projects include This Town, which follows the formation of a band “against a backdrop of violence.” This Town stars Michelle Dockery, Nicholas Pinnock, and David Dawson among an ensemble cast. Knight also wrote the Netflix hit All the Light We Cannot See, which became one of the most-streamed.