Over the past few years, the expansion of Tommy Shelby's criminal empire has seen off Inspector Campbell, Darby Sabini, various Russians, Billy Kimber, Father Hughes, the Changretta family, and the constant schemes of Alfie Solomons, but just like everything else, Peaky Blinders Season 6 has been slowed down by COVID.
Originally, the new season of the beloved gangster drama was supposed to start filming at the beginning of 2020, but those plans were delayed.
After Season 5 ended in limbo with Tommy slowly losing his mind, we do know that the Shelbys will be back for another season but up until now, it wasn't too clear when the cameras would start rolling.
However, during an interview with The Six O'Clock Show on Virgin Media, Peaky Blinders star Emmett J. Scanlan said that filming on Season 6 will hopefully resume in January.
Scanlan was a newcomer to the show in Season 5 where he played Billy Grade, an ex-footballer turned singer and an ally to the Peaky Blinders.
Speaking about the new season, he said: “I’ve read the whole series penned beautifully by Stephen Knight, who’s a genius. The scripts are incredible. Season 6, I believe they’re looking to kick off in January. Maybe early January, February maybe. It was obviously delayed because of the pandemic and the lockdown and whatnot and rightly so. They’re making sure everything’s safe and then we’re going to kick off again.”
Dubliner Anthony Byrne is coming back to direct the new episodes - he's the first director to return behind the lens to direct two different seasons of the show - and he shared a glimpse at the script for the very first episode of Peaky Blinders Season 6 via his official Instagram account.
The first episode is called Black Day and it could be an ominous sign for Tommy, given the cliffhanger that Season 5 ended on.
For those that are looking to see more of Emmett J. Scanlan, the Dubliner has a starring role in The Deceived, the new thriller from the writer of Derry Girls, Lisa McGee, which airs on Virgin Media this autumn.
