The Netflix series House of Guinness, created by Steven Knight—famed for Peaky Blinders—unfolds in the turbulent aftermath of Sir Benjamin Guinness’s death in 1868. It plunges us into a dramatic showdown within one of Europe’s most powerful families, where the patriarch’s cunning will sets the stage for profound conflict and ambition among his four adult children: Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Ben. In both 19th-century Dublin and New York, the death of Benjamin Guinness becomes the spark igniting deep familial turmoil, legacy battles, and societal tensions.
From the outset, the series captures a family in disarray. At Benjamin’s funeral, solemnity gives way to shock when his will reveals that only two of his offspring—Arthur and Edward—are named joint stewards of the Guinness brewing empire. The other two, Anne and Ben, are deliberately excluded to shield them “from the temptations that come with fortune,” a decree whose implications ripple with betrayal, powerlessness, and painful familial fissures.
As the siblings navigate their newfound roles, Arthur and Edward are forced into a fraught partnership. Arthur is portrayed as volatile and politically driven, while Edward offers a more calculating, business-oriented approach—creating a tense, “Succession”-style dynamic at the heart of the story. Meanwhile, Anne and Ben must forge identities of their own in a world where influence and respect are tied to control of the family’s legacy.
Beyond the core family drama, House of Guinness weaves in the lives of those bound to the brewery—workers, confidants, and a network of Dublin locals whose fates are entangled with the Guinness fortune. One such figure is Sean Rafferty, played by James Norton, who embodies the tensions between the Protestant upper class of the Guinness clan and the working-class Irish laborers. Aunt Agnes and other supporting characters underscore the clash between tradition and ambition, legacy and change.
Cinematically, the series is a feast for the senses. Lavish period detail is brought to life through an impressively recreated St. James’s Gate Brewery, filmed in Liverpool’s Stanley Dock to evoke the industrial atmosphere of 19th-century Dublin—the clatter of horse-drawn carriages, billowing coal-fired furnaces, and authentic Victorian grit permeate the visual narrative.
At its core, House of Guinness is a deeply human tale steeped in the potency of inheritance, power, and the fragile bonds of family. With Steven Knight at the helm, it promises to be more than a historical drama—it aims to become a sweeping, multi-generational saga, one that could stand alongside series like The Crown in its ambition and emotional resonance
