432 words, 2 minutes read time.
House of Guinness is a swaggering, stylish period drama that plunges into the legacy of Ireland’s most iconic brewing dynasty with all the grit, glamour, and generational chaos you’d expect from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Set in 1868 Dublin and New York, the series opens not with solemn mourning but with a riot: the funeral cortège of Sir Benjamin Guinness is besieged by Fenians hurling bottles and curses, a visceral reminder that the patriarch’s death is as politically charged as it is personally disruptive.
The four Guinness children—each flawed, ambitious, and emotionally combustible—are thrust into the spotlight as the family’s fortune and brewery hang in the balance:
- Arthur Guinness (Anthony Boyle) is the eldest, a libertine Londoner dragged back to Dublin with a chip on his shoulder and a taste for excess.
- Edward Guinness (Louis Partridge), the youngest, is the brewery’s loyal steward, white-knuckling his way through family dysfunction and public scrutiny.
- Anne Plunket née Guinness (Emily Fairn) is the only daughter, married off to a minor aristocrat and navigating the social constraints of her era with quiet defiance.
- Benjamin Guinness (Fionn O’Shea) is the overlooked middle child, a sweet-hearted drunk with a gambling problem and a knack for disappearing when things get serious.
The plot pivots on the reading of Sir Benjamin’s will, which awards the brewery and fortune jointly to Arthur and Edward—on the condition that neither can walk away without forfeiting everything to the other. Anne and Ben are written out entirely, sparking a season-long reckoning with power, legacy, and betrayal.
Knight’s signature use of anachronistic music is in full force here, with tracks from The Wolfe Tones, Kneecap, and Fontaines D.C. injecting raw energy and political edge into the 19th-century setting. It’s a technique he famously deployed in Peaky Blinders, and again in SAS: Rogue Heroes, where modern soundscapes underscore historical drama. The show also features Irish-language dialogue, with on-screen translations stamped in bold, a stylistic choice that reinforces cultural authenticity while echoing Knight’s approach in Rogue Heroes.
Visually, House of Guinness is lush and kinetic—rain-slicked cobblestones, candlelit parlours, and the industrial sprawl of the brewery all rendered with cinematic flair. But it’s the emotional stakes and sibling dynamics that drive the drama, as Arthur and Edward clash over vision, values, and the ghosts of their father’s empire.
If Downton Abbey was a slow pour, House of Guinness is a shot of poitín chased with a punch to the gut. It’s Downton Abbey on speed—a riotous blend of family drama, political unrest, and punk-infused period storytelling that leaves you thirsty for more
By Maria Camara
Picture credit: By Netflix – https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/house-of-guinness-photos-release-date-news, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81196719
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