The 'Peaky Blinders' Sequel Series Will Be a Full-Blown Family Affair
Stranger Things alum Charlie Heaton will be playing Tommy Shelby's other son when Peaky Blinders returns to our screens.
It’s official: The Peaky Blinders sequel series is keeping things firmly in the family. Netflix and the BBC have released our first look at Stranger Things alum Charlie Heaton in the forthcoming new season and confirmed that he is, as many predicted, playing Charles Shelby.
The son of the infamous Tommy Shelby and his tragically murdered first wife, Grace (Annabelle Wallis), Charles appeared briefly in the feature film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man as a mourner at his father’s funeral. But we learned relatively little about the character or how his life had changed in the years since the original series conclusion. (In fact, all we know about the adult Charles is that he volunteered to fight against the fascists in World War II and that he and his father had seemingly grown estranged.)
Now, a decade later, it sounds as though Charles is trying his best to live a normal life. He’s severed all ties with the Peaky Blinders and denounced everything that comes with the Shelby name. But there’s just one problem: His half-brother.
It was confirmed last month that Jamie Bell (Half Man) had been cast as an aged-up Duke Shelby, Tommy’s illegitimate eldest son, who became leader of the Peaky Blinders after his father’s death. Bell is taking over the role from Barry Keoghan (Saltburn), playing a man who is now a bit older, presumably wiser, and almost certainly more dangerous than he used to be. The two half-brothers apparently haven’t seen one another in years — most likely since Tommy’s death —but it seems safe to assume that will change almost immediately.
After all, how else could this story really have gone?
Here’s the synopsis.
In this new era of Peaky Blinders, a decade after World War Two, the race to rebuild Birmingham becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions. This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and jeopardy. At its blood-soaked heart is Duke Shelby: older, wiser, more ambitious, and most certainly more dangerous.
Alongside Bell and Heaton, Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), Lashana Lynch (The Day of the Jackal), and Lucy Karczewski (Stereophonic) are confirmed as part of the series’ main ensemble cast. However, details of their roles are still being kept under wraps. (Best guesses? There are certainly some other Shelby kids out there...)
The six-episode sequel series is by Banijay UK’s Kudos and Garrison Drama for the BBC and Netflix. It is currently being filmed in and around Digbeth Loc Studios in Birmingham.
There’s no word yet on when we’ll see Peaky Blinders return to our screens. Seasons 1-6 and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man are all streaming on Netflix.
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