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Across six seasons, Peaky Blinders told the story of a family trying to climb while the ground kept shifting beneath their feet. What started as a local gang drama turned into a series about power, war, grief, and survival.
Tommy Shelby led with a steady hand and a storm behind his eyes. He wasn’t a hero or a villain - just someone who kept going, no matter what it cost. Each season added a layer. Some were tighter, some more ambitious, and a few wandered through smoke and silence before making their point.
Whether it was a quiet scene in a pub or a loud one in Parliament, Peaky Blinders had a way of drawing you in. But not every season hit the same. So here’s a look back - ranked from the one that felt a little off to the one that stuck the landing. No perfect runs, but always something worth watching.
By Order of the Peaky Blinders: Every Season, Ranked
6) Season 5 (2019)
Peaky Blinders Season 5 opens with the fallout from the Wall Street crash and throws Tommy into politics as a Member of Parliament. The stakes should feel higher, but something doesn’t quite click. Oswald Mosley steps in as the new threat, and while his speeches are intense, his presence doesn’t always hold.
The season is filled with atmosphere - long stares, ghostly visions, and a haunted Tommy, but the story moves slowly.
Arthur’s personal chaos, Michael’s ambition, and Polly’s discomfort with where things are going all add layers, but none of it fully comes together. The attempted assassination of Mosley in the finale should’ve been a big payoff, but it lands with more confusion than shock.
The season feels like it’s gearing up for something huge, then leaves you hanging. It’s not bad - just scattered. It sets the stage for a darker Tommy, but never quite becomes a full chapter on its own.
5) Season 6 (2022)
Peaky Blinders Season 6 had a heavy shadow over it before it even began. With the death of Helen McCrory, the show lost one of its strongest voices. Polly was the anchor, and her absence is deeply felt throughout the season.
The story leans into that loss. Tommy feels more distant, more tired. His illness becomes a driving force, and the tone is quieter, almost reflective. Some scenes work well. Arthur trying to stay sober, Ada taking on more responsibility, Alfie showing up with his usual charm.
But the pacing drags. There’s no clear villain this time, just shifting threats and old ghosts. The ending is less of a finale and more of a quiet step away. It gives Tommy some kind of peace, but not the dramatic send-off fans might have expected.
The season doesn’t fumble, but it plays it safe. A thoughtful exit, even if it lacked bite.
4) Season 4 (2017)
Peaky Blinders Season 4 brings the Shelby family back to basics - fighting to stay alive. After the fallout from Season 3, they’re scattered, broken, and disconnected. Then Luca Changretta arrives, and things get personal fast. Played with flair by Adrien Brody, he brings real danger to Birmingham.
Tommy has to pull everyone back in, not just for business, but to survive. Arthur and Polly get more to do here, both carrying their own weight. There’s no time for side plots - it’s a focused story about revenge and survival.
The violence feels closer, and the emotional moments hit harder. Michael starts to show some edge, and the family starts to shift. The finale, with the boxing ring standoff and that one last move from Tommy, is one of the cleaner endings in the series.
The pace is tight, the stakes feel real, and the Shelbys are fully in the thick of it again.
3) Season 1 (2013)
The first season is where it all begins. It’s smaller in scale, but that works in its favor. The Shelbys are still growing their business, mostly running bookmaking in Birmingham.
Tommy is calm, calculated, and trying to move the family into something bigger. Grace, the barmaid with a secret, adds a layer of tension. Inspector Campbell brings the law down hard, but the real conflict is internal. Polly quickly stands out as the one holding things together. Arthur is wild and unpredictable.
Tommy plays the long game, already thinking three moves ahead. The look and feel of the show are still forming, but the grit is there. There are no grand speeches or massive shootouts - just a slow push toward power.
It’s a season about laying tracks, not racing forward. For something that starts quietly, it leaves a lasting impression.
2) Season 2 (2014)
This is the season where Peaky Blinders levels up. Tommy moves beyond Birmingham, taking on the Sabini gang in London. The power grab is bold, and the stakes are bigger. Enter Alfie Solomons - Tom Hardy’s chaotic, mumbling wild card who steals every scene he’s in. The show gets messier, but in a good way.
Grace comes back, and with her comes a lot of unfinished business. Her return complicates things for Tommy, just as he’s trying to expand beyond Birmingham. He’s no longer just running the streets, he’s starting to move into politics. That brings more enemies, more risks, and a few cracks in the plan.
The season keeps a steady pace, and the tension stays high without feeling forced. By the end, things feel earned. The show starts to shift, but it still holds on to what made it work: family, danger, and control slipping through Tommy’s fingers.
1) Season 3 (2016)
Peaky Blinders Season 3 starts with a wedding and ends with a quiet collapse. It’s the most emotionally packed season of the series. Tommy is at his most ambitious - dealing with Russians, secret deals, and government plots, but also his most vulnerable.
When Grace is killed, everything changes. That one moment in Peaky Blinders sends a ripple through the entire season.
Cillian Murphy’s performance is especially sharp here - there’s a scene where Tommy stands alone in his office after her death that says everything without a word. Polly gets some of her best scenes, especially with the priest. Michael starts to step forward, unsure but curious about power.
Peaky Blinders season 3 moves fast but gives space to the fallout. The ending, with the family taken away in cars and Tommy left standing alone, feels like a gut punch. There’s no shootout, no fire. Just loss. And that lands harder than any explosion.
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Conclusion
Peaky Blinders didn’t always run smoothly. Some seasons drifted. Others locked in fast. The Shelbys changed, cracked, and kept going. That’s what made it work. Not the smoke or the violence, but how real those moments felt underneath it all.
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