You’ve finished it. The smoke has cleared, the Flat Caps are hung up, and Cillian Murphy’s razor-sharp cheekbones have disappeared into the Birmingham fog. Now you’re staring at a Netflix home screen that feels incredibly empty. It’s a specific kind of grief. You want that cocktail of grime, tailored suits, "red right hand" energy, and family loyalty that feels more like a cult than a business. Finding series like Peaky Blinders isn't actually about finding more shows set in the 1920s. Honestly, if you just watch any old period piece, you’re going to be bored to tears within twenty minutes.
The magic of the Shelbys wasn't just the history. It was the vibe. It was the modern soundtrack clashing with the industrial revolution. It was the "us against the world" mentality. To find something that actually scratches that itch, you have to look for the DNA of the show: the anti-hero protagonist, the hyper-stylized violence, and that suffocating sense of ambition.
The American Cousin: Boardwalk Empire
If Tommy Shelby had moved to Atlantic City instead of staying in Small Heath, he’d be Nucky Thompson. Boardwalk Empire is often the first suggestion people throw out, and for good reason. It covers the same era—Prohibition—but it swaps the Birmingham soot for salt air and expensive gin. Steve Buscemi plays Nucky, a political fixer who is essentially the "King of Atlantic City."
Unlike the Shelbys, who started as street-level bookies, Nucky starts at the top and tries to keep his hands clean while everyone around him is getting drenched in blood. The production value is insane. Martin Scorsese directed the pilot, and it shows. You get real historical figures like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano drifting in and out of the narrative. It’s slower than Peaky. It’s more dense. But the payoff? It’s massive. You see the birth of the modern American mob. If you loved the political maneuvering of the later Peaky seasons, this is your next stop.
Western Grime: Why Deadwood is the Closest Spiritual Match
Hear me out on this one. You might think a Western has nothing to do with 1920s England. You’d be wrong. Deadwood is basically Peaky Blinders with more dirt and fewer haircuts.
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Ian McShane plays Al Swearengen. He is, quite frankly, one of the greatest characters ever written for television. He runs a gem saloon in a lawless settlement in South Dakota. He is brutal, manipulative, and strangely protective of his town. The dialogue in Deadwood is Shakespearean but filled with the most creative profanity you’ve ever heard. It’s poetic. It’s foul. It captures that same feeling of a small, dirty place trying to become an empire. The power struggle between Swearengen and Seth Bullock (the sheriff) mirrors the tension between Tommy Shelby and Inspector Campbell. It’s about the cost of building a civilization.
The Modern Parallel: Animal Kingdom
Sometimes the setting doesn't matter as much as the family dynamic. If you loved the way Aunt Polly kept the boys in line, you need to watch Animal Kingdom. It’s set in modern-day Southern California, centered on a family of armed robbers.
The matriarch, Smurf (played by Ellen Barkin), is basically a darker, more manipulative version of Polly Gray. She runs her sons like a pack of wolves. It’s sun-drenched instead of foggy, and they ride surfboards instead of horses, but the tension is identical. It’s about the toxicity of family loyalty. You spend the whole show wondering if they’re going to kill each other or die for each other. It’s fast-paced. It’s sweaty. It’s addictive.
Taboo: Tom Hardy Unleashed
We can’t talk about series like Peaky Blinders without mentioning the man who played Alfie Solomons. Tom Hardy created Taboo with his father and Steven Knight (the creator of Peaky).
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It’s set in 1814. Hardy plays James Keziah Delaney, a man who returns to London after years in Africa, presumed dead. He’s there to reclaim his father’s shipping empire and wage war against the East India Company. It is dark. Like, physically dark—you might need to turn the brightness up on your TV. But it has that same "one man against the establishment" energy. Delaney is even more of a ghost than Tommy Shelby. He’s terrifying, silent, and always three steps ahead of everyone else. It only has one season so far, but it’s a mood piece that fits perfectly in the Peaky universe.
The International Choice: Gomorrah
If you want the grit without the glamour, go to Italy. Gomorrah is a brutal, uncompromising look at the Camorra crime syndicate in Naples.
Forget the romanticized versions of the Mafia you saw in The Godfather. This is ugly. It’s about power, betrayal, and the cycle of violence in the projects. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the decaying concrete of Naples in a way that feels as oppressive as the Birmingham factories. There are no heroes here. Just like you occasionally had to remind yourself that the Shelbys were actually "bad people," Gomorrah never lets you forget the cost of the life they lead. It’s subtitled, which might turn some people off, but honestly? It’s arguably better than Peaky Blinders in terms of raw intensity.
Why We Crave the "Gentleman Gangster" Trope
There is something hypnotic about watching someone break the law while wearing a three-piece suit. It’s a paradox. We love the order of the clothing and the chaos of the actions. These shows offer a form of hyper-competence porn. Tommy Shelby is never flustered. He always has a plan. Even when he’s losing, he’s winning.
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We live in a world that feels messy and bureaucratic. Watching a character walk into a room, say three words, and change the course of history is satisfying. It’s wish fulfillment. We don't actually want to be in a razor fight in a muddy alleyway. We want the confidence that comes with it.
The "Peaky" Checklist for Your Next Binge
When you’re looking for your next show, don’t just look at the genre. Look for these specific elements:
- The Soundscape: Does the music feel like it shouldn't fit, but somehow does? (Think Nick Cave or PJ Harvey).
- The Visual Language: Is there a specific color palette? Peaky is blue, grey, and orange (fire). Succession is beige and cold blue. Taboo is black and mud.
- The Outsider Status: The Shelbys were Romanichal, always viewed as outsiders by the British elite. Look for shows where the protagonists are fighting for a seat at a table they aren't invited to.
- The "Heavy is the Head" Narrative: The protagonist must be miserable. If they’re having too much fun, it’s not a Peaky-style show. It needs that lingering trauma, usually from a war or a childhood tragedy.
Godless: The Short-Form Masterpiece
If you don't want to commit to five seasons of something, Godless on Netflix is a limited series that hits all the right notes. It’s a Western, but it focuses on a town populated almost entirely by women after a mining accident.
Jeff Daniels plays Frank Griffin, a villain who is as charismatic as he is terrifying. The cinematography is some of the best ever put to film. It has that slow-burn tension that explodes into frantic, stylish violence. It’s a self-contained story, meaning you get a real ending, something Peaky fans are still debating about today.
Practical Steps for the Post-Peaky Void
Stop scrolling the "More Like This" section on streaming apps; the algorithms are usually lazy and just suggest other things with the same actors. Instead, try these moves:
- Follow the Creator: Steven Knight has a very specific "voice." Check out The Veil or SAS Rogue Heroes. The latter is basically Peaky Blinders but in the North African desert during WWII. It has the same punk-rock energy.
- Look for "Noir" over "Drama": Peaky is a Neo-Noir. If a show is described as a "gritty police procedural," it might work, but you're better off looking for "period crime noir."
- Switch Mediums: Honestly, if you want that exact feeling, read The Gangs of New York (the original book by Herbert Asbury) or watch the movie Lawless (also starring Tom Hardy and written by Nick Cave).
The Shelbys might be gone, but the genre of "broken men doing bad things for good reasons" is alive and well. You just have to know where the shadows are darkest to find the next great story. Focus on the atmosphere first, the plot second, and the hats third. You'll find your next obsession sooner than you think.