Why BBC’s Peaky Blinders Is Still A Netflix Original
Americans access Peaky Blinders via Netflix, but only after new seasons first air on the BBC. So, what makes Peaky Blinders a “Netflix Original”?
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Peaky Blinders is a production of BBC, yet it’s still somehow a Netflix Original. Created and written by Steven Knight, Peaky Blinders chronicles the trials and tribulations of the fictional Shelby family. The series title was inspired by a real gang that operated in Birmingham, England, after World War I.
Irish actor Cillian Murphy stars in the lead role as Thomas Shelby, a decorated war veteran, crime boss, and politician. Peaky Blinders season 1 originally aired on BBC Two, with the most recent season, Peaky Blinders season 5, having switched over to BBC One; that season releases to Netflix subscribers in October 2019. And it’s there where the grey area lies regarding Peaky Blinders being an original series for both BBC and Netflix.
Related: Peaky Blinders: 5 Historical Facts The Show Gets Right (& 5 It Gets Totally Wrong)
Peaky Blinders is still a Netflix Original because of none other than Harvey Weinstein. One week before Peaky Blinders season 2 premiered on BBC Two in 2014, Netflix acquired US distribution rights from The Weinstein Company, which had previously held U.S. TV and Video-On-Demand rights. Since then, Peaky Blinders has technically been a Netflix Original since it airs exclusively on Netflix in the United States. For the same reason, that’s why shows like Titans and Star Trek Discovery are considered Netflix Originals internationally despite them airing DC Universe and CBS All Access, respectively, in the US.
In October 2017, both The New York Times and The New Yorker published investigative reports about sexual abuse allegations made against Harvey Weinstein. The same month, Peaky Blinders permanently removed The Weinstein Company’s logo from the credits sequence, as the company was still technically listed as a U.S. distributor. Netflix won a court case in July 2018 that terminated the streaming service’s professional relationship with The Weinstein Company, which had an on-going distribution dispute with Endemol Shine Group, one of Peaky Blinders’ original U.S. distributors. Based on the 2014 acquisition deal, Netflix continues to have U.S. distribution right for Peaky Blinders, and the series will remain on the streaming service moving forward.
Looking ahead, Peaky Blinders will reportedly continue for at least two more seasons. In May 2018, Knight stated (via The Independent) that “we are definitely doing six and we will probably do seven,” which means that Peaky Blinders will continue to air on the BBC potentially through 2023. Nearly two years passed between the Peaky Blinders season 4 finale and the Peaky Blinders season 5 premiere, so it all really depends on the production schedule, and how Knight and company choose to wrap up (or extend) the narrative. Peaky Blinders has been wildly popular over the years, and the series continues to gain new fans through its distribution home on Netflix. Despite a strong supporting cast, Peaky Blinders is clearly grounded by Murphy’s central performance, one that earned him a 2018 Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Drama. It’s hard to imagine Peaky Blinders without Murphy’s charismatic antihero.
More: Peaky Blinders: 10 Hidden Details About The Costumes You Didn’t Notice
Q.V. Hough is a senior writer at Screen Rant. He’s also the founding editor at Vague Visages, and has contributed to RogerEbert.com and Fandor.
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