Netflix is set to pour an epic drama this fall with House of Guinness, a historical series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. The eight-episode saga, scheduled to drop on 25 September 2025, tells a compelling story rooted in real-life intrigue and family conflict. The show explores the turbulence that ignites after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man credited with elevating the Guinness brewery into a global powerhouse.
The Will That Changed Everything
The drama begins with Benjamin’s funeral, a veneer of respect that swiftly gives way to raw ambition and betrayal. His will reveals a seismic twist: only two of his four children, Arthur (Anthony Boyle) and Edward (Louis Partridge), are chosen to steward the family business jointly. The other two, Anne (Emily Fairn) and Ben (Fionn O’Shea) are sidelined under the pretext that they are better left unburdened by fortune.
Knight himself describes this inheritance as a dramatic fulcrum: “Here’s a deceased father deciding the fate of his children. … None of them are happy.”.
Sibling Rivalry Meets Revolutionary Storms
As rivalries simmer, unrest kicks off in the streets of 19th-century Dublin, spilling over into the heart of the Guinness family’s fortune. The trailer hints at gunfire, explosions, passionate confrontations, and even romance, framing this familial war in a broader context of political turbulence.
Actor Anthony Boyle (Arthur) portrays a fun-loving playboy with an appetite for the “craic,” while Partridge’s Edward is the pragmatic, principled heir deeply committed to the brewery. Knight teases that their forced partnership is a calculated design to bind them “chained together, with these kinds of golden hoops around each other’s souls.” Jam-packed with inner turmoil, each sibling harbors secrets capable of fracturing the legacy they’ve been thrust into.
A Cast Forged for Conflict
The ensemble cast brings together both rising stars and established actors:
- James Norton appears as Sean Rafferty, a brewery foreman with an edge and, potentially, secrets of his own.
- The overall cast includes Dervla Kirwan, Jack Gleeson, Niamh McCormack, Danielle Galligan, Ann Skelly, and others, building a richly populated tableau of characters entangled in family, class, and power.
Knight, alongside directors Tom Shankland (first five episodes) and Mounia Akl (final three episodes), serves as an executive producer, with production handled by Kudos and Stigma Films. Filming took place in the UK—Cheshire, Stockport, and Liverpool—bringing 19th-century Dublin and New York to life with remarkable authenticity.
Binge-Ready Legacy
Knight emphasizes that every character’s choices carry weight not only within the family but for the fate of Ireland itself. The stakes are high: “The decisions these characters make about personal issues will have consequences for the future of Ireland, which is quite a burden. The pressure adds fuel and energy to all of those relationships.”
All eight episodes will launch simultaneously, Netflix style, promising a binge-worthy exploration of power, betrayal, and identity wrapped in period drama spectacle.
Final Word
House of Guinness emerges as more than a historical saga; it’s a story of inheritance turned battlefield, where every toast echoes with ambition and every family secret spills like dark stout into the past. With Steven Knight’s signature flair for plotting, tension, and character, the series is shaping up to be a must-watch when it premieres on 25 September 2025.
By – Sonali