House of Guinness TV Review: Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight delivers a stout family drama

Plot: House of Guinness explores an epic story inspired by one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties – the Guinness Family. Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the story begins immediately after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery, and the far-reaching impact of his will on the fate of his four adult children, Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Ben, as well as on a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness.

Review: If you are a fan of Steven Knight, you are already familiar with his unique approach to telling historical tales. From Peaky Blinders to A Thousand Blows and with some distinct Charles Dickens adaptations in between, Knight has made a career out of taking chapters from British history and giving them a punk rock sensibility. Steven Knight has turned his sights on the most recognizable family in Irish history and their iconic beer brand for his latest project, House of Guinness. Following the tumultuous era after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the series focuses on the four members of the family who would take their legacy into the next century. House of Guinness is distinctly a Steven Knight series anchored by an excellent young cast who bring a fictionalized perspective to the Guinness family history while setting the potential for an ongoing series chock full of violence, sex, and palace intrigue.

The series opens in 1868 with the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness. While most of us know the last name of the Guinness clan as synonymous with world records and the familiar dark stout beer that bears their name, I was unaware of the divide in Irish society between the workers who hated the family for their connections to the British. As workers revolted and Irish nationalists burned effigies of Benjamin Guinness, the four successors to running the family business took their places for the next stage of their lives. Eldest son Arthur (Anthony Boyle) prepared to take over the brewery and vast fortunes of the Guinness family while his brother Edward (Louis Partridge) angled for more control. Anne (Emily Fairn) worked to distinguish herself despite women not wielding much authority at the time. At the same time, youngest brother Benjamin (Fionn O’Shea) remained awash in his addictions to alcohol and gambling. With their father’s will outlining what would come next, the four Guinness scions contended with their personal ambitions equally with their secrets.

Across the eight-episode first season, House of Guinness is chock full of elements made up to enhance the dramatic tension and entertainment value of the story. Focusing on the four Guinness siblings provides more than enough to start the story, but Steven Knight has included an ensemble of characters to surround the clan. Sean Rafferty (James Norton) serves as the Guinness family’s key enforcer and fixer, and he shares romantic interests that connect him to his employers. Ellen Cochrane (Niamh McCormack) is a significant presence in the Irish Brotherhood. It counterbalances her rash and violent brother, Patrick (Seamus O’Hara), who hates the Guinness family. With Arthur poised to take over his father’s political appointments, Byron Hughes (Jack Gleeson) comes aboard as his campaign manager. Each of the Guinnesses has their personal relationships and spouses, which conflict with their mistresses and other private entanglements, which have the potential to spell doom for the family name or upset the delicate order within their sibling hierarchy.

Throughout this first season, I was often reminded of not just Peaky Blinders but also of Netflix’s more refined series, The Crown. The structure of power and how it is maintained is a fascinating concept, and this series peels back the curtain on a very famous family with revelations that may shock certain people who have a vision of these real historical figures. The series opens with a disclaimer that it is heavily fictionalized, but most of what we see is built from history, adding some spicy elements with little truth. House of Guinness also owes a debt to popular upstairs/downstairs melodramas like Downton Abbey, as it analyzes the differences between the rich and powerful and those who cook and clean for them. I also found a lot of parallels to Game of Thrones, only with dragons replaced by barrels of rich, frothy brew. The series works well thanks to the main cast, especially Boyle, Partridge, Fair, and O’Shea, who bring a youthful vigor to an era often associated with stuffiness and restraint.

What sets House of Guinness apart from all of those other shows is Steven Knight’s approach to storytelling, which adds a Guy Ritchie-esque flair that blends an anachronistic soundtrack and modern editing techniques to bring a cool edge to this 19th-century saga. Knight wrote all eight series episodes, which keeps his penchant for blending period-specific stories with modern storytelling conceits. House of Guinness is chock full of profanity, violence, and sex, but also incorporates contemporary themes about gender dynamics and sexual orientation without hitting you over the head with messaging or commentary. Directing duties are shared between Tom Shankland (The Punisher, Rogue Heroes) on five episodes and Mounia Akl (Costa Brava, Lebanon) on the remaining three. Both Shankland and Akl maintain a balance between the gritty lower classes of Irish society in the mid-1800s and the excesses of the wealthy, with both showing sharp contrast to one another while regularly bashing against each other.

The implicit parallels between the story of the Guinness family and their prominence in Irish society are at the core of this series and something that makes the title clan incredibly watchable. Odds are that you will walk away from this series loving certain characters and hating others, but enjoying every second with the entire ensemble. Steven Knight has created yet another entertaining period drama that portrays a specific microcosm of European history that works as a brilliant parallel to societal and political themes today. With a solid cast of young protagonists, House of Guinness could last for multiple seasons as it chronicles the continual rise of the iconic brewery into the twentieth century. These eight episodes are a solid introduction to the Guinness family while expanding on the politics and class warfare that dominated Ireland over a century ago. Steven Knight sure knows how to make a political campaign sexy while also giving a history lesson at the same time.

House of Guinness premieres on September 25th on Netflix.