House of Guinness

I was looking forward to this for a couple months when I saw it was from the creator of Peaky Blinders. It took a couple episodes to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed it. It looks like Peaky Blinders but that's about as far as similarities go and if you're not looking for a Peaky 2.0, you should enjoy it. I agree with other reviews though, the music does not fit it and I hope they change it in season two.

'House of Guinness' successfully navigates a tricky path. It would have been very easy to cross over from drama to soap opera, but this series does not. I also don't care that they have invented some characters, Sean Rafferty (James Norton), or fudged dates. This is not a documentary.

The acting is quite good with Anthony Boyle (Arthur Guinness) being particularly strong. Also, Jack Gleeson (Byron Hedges), Michael McElhatton (Potter), Niamh McCormack (Ellen Cochrane) and Louis Partridge (Edward Guinness).

There are some unusual accents, but such is life. I look forward to Season 2.

House of Guinness is a new show from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders). It has that same look and feel as PB. It's about the Guinness family after its founder dies in 1868 and leaves its empire in the hands of his four children, each with problems and secrets of their own. It may start slow for some but stay with it because after the first couple episodes it really picks up. It's a good period series about power, greed, betrayal and back stabbing. Bottom line is while House of Guinness isn't nearly as good as PB, it's still a pretty good show that's worth watching.

Being a huge fan of Peaky Blinders I was really looking forward to House of Guinness ever since I first heard about it since it has the same creator in Steven Knight. Now, I didn't think it going to be as good as Peaky Blinders bc not much is so don't go into this trying to compare. Knight sure knows how to make a show entertaining while staying true to its history. You're never bored as the show flys by. Just be sure you give yourself enough time to watch this because once you start you're going to want to binge it as quickly as possible.

I really hate the modern music scores as the soundtrack for a period drama. It doesn't work and pulls you right out of the fantasy they're trying to create. I wish modern directors and producers realized this. Rule 101 of storytelling when you're playing in historical fiction -- do not use terms, music, etc that did not exist back then. Aside from the music, the word "Bonehead" was an Americanism that didn't even originate until the early 1900's and likely would not have been used in late 1800's Ireland. If you're doing a period drama - do it right. Don't keep pulling the viewer out of the story by introducing modern music and words. That is why I pulled three stars.