Why won’t there be a Peaky Blinders season 7? Steven Knight explains

By Lewis Knight

Published: Sunday, 03 April 2022 at 12:00 am

Has the cursed Tommy Shelby said goodbye for good?
The sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders concludes on Sunday 3rd April 2022, with the BBC gangster drama bowing out with much fanfare.
The most recent episodes have focused on the demons of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) as he deals with terrible losses, personal demons and a long list of enemies.
The events culminate in the feature-length finale episode, titled Lock and Key, which sees Tommy face the consequences of his epic climb up the societal ladder.
Which characters in the star-studded Peaky Blinders cast survive the epic finale? Fans no doubt have their favourites and are worrying about who will make it out of the season alive.
However, with a seventh season of the drama previously been planned, why has Peaky Blinders changed course?

Why won’t there be a Peaky Blinders season 7?

Well, there are a number of reasons why plans for Peaky Blinders season 7 were cancelled.
One of the biggest reasons was because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Appearing on BBC News in early 2021, Steven Knight revealed: “The original intention was to do seven series, but COVID has stolen a year from us, and we felt what would be a great idea is to, almost in place of that seventh series, is to go onto the big screen.”
He later revealed to the BBC ahead of the release of season 6 that the pandemic combined with the tragic death of beloved actress Helen McCrory, who played Polly Gray in the series, caused plans for the feature film to be accelerated.
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Helen McCrory as Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders
BBC

“The reason is boringly practical which is that we lost a year due to the pandemic,” Knight revealed. “The way these things are scheduled – it’s like turning an oil tanker around.”

He added: “We just felt, also with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I’m calling ‘the end of the beginning’.
“Let’s end the beginning, then let’s do the film. And then let’s see where we go in terms of spin-offs.”

How will Peaky Blinders continue? 

First and foremost, Peaky Blinders is set to continue with the Peaky Blinders movie.
So while there won’t be a seventh run of the central Peaky Blinders show, we will be getting a feature film and potentially spin-off series.
Production is set to begin on the film in the coming months, with Cillian Murphy and Paul Anderson believed to be reprising their roles as Tommy and Arthur Shelby, respectively.
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What will come next for Thomas Shelby in the Peaky Blinders universe?
BBC
Knight has also hinted that Stephen Graham could reprise his role as Hayden Stagg in the future of the franchise.
Speaking to Metro, Knight said of Graham’s performance: “It’s been brilliant, and I want to keep him as part of it, going forward.”
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Knight said: “I know what’s going to happen in those stories and it’s about a sort of untold story that happened in the Second World War, which Peakys are going to be involved in.”