Peaky Blinders

What’s it about?

Set in 1919 Birmingham, this British crime drama follows the Shelby family gang and its leader Tommy, who seizes the opportunity to expand when a weapons shipment is stolen. He faces opposition from Chief Inspector Campbell and communist agitators rallying the local workers.

The facts

• Directed by Otto Bathurst and Tom Harper
• Stars Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Tom Hardy, Sophie Rundle and Joe Cole
• Runtime: 6 episodes, each around 60 minutes long

Why did it get this rating?

This series was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about the classification process and ratings here.

Sexual Violence

A man attempts to kiss a woman and gets angry when she refuses. He pushes her and tries to pull up her dress.  Someone else walks in and interrupts them, and the woman leaves.

A character has a coercive sexual encounter with a sex worker. The sex worker looks upset while the character is being rough with her, including pushing her head down into the bed. Later, the sex worker is shown with a cut and a bloody lip.

Suicide themes

A character hangs himself. Close-ups of the rope pulling on his neck, his twitching feet, and his face turning red are shown. The rope breaks, which stops him from dying, but it leaves a welt across his neck. The scene shows how painful and scary this is, making it clear that no one should try this.

Sex

A clothed woman sits on top of her partner, moving in a way that shows they are having sex.

Another longer scene suggests sex while two people movetogether in a passionate embrace.

The background sometimes shows sex workers engaged in sexual activity in alleyways.

There are crude references to oral sex and partner swapping.

Violence

This series contains a lot of violence, sometimes showing detail of injury. Stronger moments include:

• A character is beaten and his thumb deliberately broken.
• A character is slashed across the eyelid with a razor, slammed against a sink, and his ear is sliced off, with bloody and fleshy detail.
• After a brutal interrogation, a man’s corpse is shown with arms strung up. Bloody cuts on his flesh are shown in close-up.
• Participants in a bare-knuckle fight become increasingly bloodied and some die from the brutality. A man is repeatedly bashed and his bloody face is shown.

Offensive language

‘F**k’ is used aggressively.

Drug Use

A character smokes opium from a pipe.

Disturbing Content

There are multiple flashback scenes showing World War 1 trench warfare showing soldiers being attacked. The violence feels more intense because of the jerky camera angles, screaming sounds, and close-ups of weapons covered in blood.

When content stays with you:

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?