‘Peaky Blinders’ Is Ending, But Its Fans Aren’t Over Yet


LONDON – When Roy Short, John Brophy and Ryan Hyland dress as Peaky Blinders, they do it right.

Wearing plain hats, three-piece suits, overcoats and pocket watches, the three emulate not only the vintage style but also the mood of the Shelbys, the central crime family of the period drama “Peaky Blinders.”

When the show’s second season aired on the BBC in 2014, Short said, “We got it and loved everything about it.” He remembered thinking, “What a wonderful, wonderful look.” Nobody looks like that.”

Putting on the characters’ chic outfits from the early 20th century was initially something friends did on a night out, but soon after, Short and Brophy said the photos they posted on social media were gaining attention and organizers began inviting them to join their “Peaky.” themed events.

The Birmingham Peaky Blinders, as the trio call themselves, are not the only group of their kind. Across the UK, fans of the show meet, host weddings and sometimes re-enactments dressed as characters based on real gang members named after the razors they sew into their pointed hats. “We’re just like one big family,” Short said.

Despite characters being criticized for their past actions violent version of masculinityThe Birmingham Peaky Blinders say bloodshed is one aspect of the show they haven’t recreated. “It was never a minor problem. Nothing,” Brophy said. “It was all about showing respect, shaking hands, acting like a gentleman, acting like a lady.”

In more than eight years since then “Peaky Blinders” premiered on the BBC for the first time, became a show loved by British critics and watched by a global audience in millions. But it has also become a cultural phenomenon, with a fan base dedicated to bringing elements of the series’ fictional world to life.

Now the show is ending. The sixth and final season airs weekly on the BBC in the UK (US Netflix release date yet to be announced). The series chronicles the rise and misadventures of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), the leader of the Peaky Blinders, and his family during the interwar period. The show is highly stylized with the occasional slow motion and tuned anachronistically to the music of modern music like Nick Cave, Arctic Monkeys, and Black Sabbath.

In Britain, “Peaky Blinders” inspires enthusiasm, often the guardian of science fiction and fantasy gadgets. “The way fans have embraced it is almost gripping,” executive producer Caryn Mandabach said in a video interview, adding that the “Harry Potter” series and the likes of Disney movies have equally passionate fanbases.

While the show’s popularity can be traced over the years through the continued popularity of the characters’ distinctive undercut hairstyle and increasing sales of flat hats, its creators have also been deliberate in building a brand. Official “Peaky” products range from the expected (a soundtrack) to the interesting (a virtual reality game and immersive theatrical show) to the unexpected (a cookbook).

There are several reasons for this strong and persistent reaction.

For Julie KershawThe show, who tours filming locations in Liverpool, England, said the appeal was that it told the story of “the ordinary working man and woman”, adding that “it gives a kind of working class of Birmingham and.” Similar to the cultural significance of cowboys in the United States, all of Britain has its own mythology.

Tommy Bulfin, the BBC’s drama commissioner and executive producer of the series, believes it’s also important that it represents family ties. “Peaky Blinders” “puts family drama at the highest risk imaginable, which is like gangster culture,” he said, adding that “interpersonal relationships” between family members are what make the show appealing to viewers.

For some female fans, the show’s portrayal of women is something to praise. The show recently lost her parents, Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory. who died last year. “Most of the female characters are very strong women and you don’t see that in many shows,” said Jade Salt, 24, a fan from Shropshire. who manages a popular fan account. “In this show, they don’t let the men push them around and they just move on.”

Another group that the show resonated with is the Brummies, the nickname given to the residents of Birmingham. The city has historically been the stump of many national jokes, and its accent both least attractive and least reliable in surveys.

“I think it has made Birmingham culturally cool in the UK, even though it hasn’t been massively before,” said Laurence Mozafari, editor-in-chief of Digital Spy, a television and film site, and former host of the BBC podcast. to show. “But it also went global and then it was like, ‘Here’s a great place, Birmingham’.”

The show has Tourism revived in the region and Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” was shot in Birmingham and, like series creator Steven Knight, planned a million-dollar film studio in the area, stimulating a nascent television and film industry.

There’s a sense of local pride in the show, something the Birmingham Peaky Blinders felt. “It’s set in Birmingham – Small Heath and Bordesley Green and Digbeth, all these areas. These are the areas where we live, work and drink.” “We loved the way they portrayed those Brummie accents.”

While there is such resonance among fans, there are mixed feelings about the show’s ending. But will “Peaky Blinders” really end with its final episode?

Mandabach framed Season 6 as an opportunity, not an ending. A movie is in the making and possible side shows have been played. Later this year, the gripping production “Peaky Blinders: The Rise” will arrive in London and a dance show “Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby” will be held in Birmingham with a national tour scheduled for 2023.

As for fans, the Birmingham Peaky Blinders will continue their work, and Kershaw said they will continue their tour as long as there is demand.

“The series is over, but the following is not,” said Brophy of Birmingham Peaky Blinders. “People are still going to go out and continue to do that.”





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