Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (2026) Review - Plus Shows Like Peaky Blinders to Watch Next

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (2026) Review - Plus Shows Like Peaky Blinders to Watch Next

If you've been searching for shows like Peaky Blinders, you'll want to hear this: four years after the series finale, Tommy Shelby is back. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man brings Cillian Murphy's iconic character to the big screen, opening in theaters on March 6, 2026 and streaming on Netflix on March 20, 2026. In this review, I'll break down what works in the film, whether it's worth your time, and additionally share the best shows like Peaky Blinders to watch next, including top Netflix shows like Peaky Blinders and other tv shows like Peaky Blinders across various platforms.

What Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Is About

Plot overview and setting

Set in Birmingham during 1940, The Immortal Man drops us into the chaos of World War II and the Birmingham Blitz. The film opens with a Nazi plot that feels ripped from history books: Germany using Jewish concentration camp labor to produce counterfeit British pound notes, planning to flood the UK with £350 million in fake currency to collapse the British economy.

Tommy Shelby has retreated to a rural house, spending his days writing a memoir and battling his demons. He's haunted by visions of his deceased daughter Ruby and mourns his brother Arthur, who died by apparent suicide. Johnny Dogs remains his only companion, helping him with rural living while Tommy smokes opium and struggles with PTSD from the First World War.

Meanwhile, back in Birmingham, Tommy's illegitimate son Duke has taken control of the Peaky Blinders. The problem? Duke operates with the ruthless violence of 1919, behaving as if "it's 1919 all over again" and embarrassing Ada, who's now an MP. Duke gets entangled with John Beckett, Treasurer of the British Union of Fascists, who's orchestrating the Nazi counterfeit scheme. Beckett offers Duke a 20% cut of the operation, but the deal comes with a deadly condition: Duke must kill his aunt Ada.

Tommy is eventually drawn back to Birmingham by Kaulo, a Romani woman with psychic abilities who happens to be the twin sister of Duke's deceased mother, Zelda. What follows is a father-son confrontation that includes an impressive brawl in pig manure and a race against time to stop Beckett's plot before midnight.

Main characters and cast

Cillian Murphy returns as Thomas Shelby after 36 episodes across six seasons. Barry Keoghan takes over the role of Duke Shelby from Conrad Khan, bringing his signature unpredictable energy to Tommy's troubled firstborn son. Rebecca Ferguson plays both Kaulo and her twin sister Zelda, serving as the mystical force that pulls Tommy back into action. Tim Roth portrays John Beckett, the Nazi sympathizer who manipulates Duke into his dangerous scheme.

Sophie Rundle reprises her role as Ada Thorne, Tommy's sister who's transitioned into politics. Stephen Graham returns as Hayden Stagg, the Liverpool dock union convener from season five. The loyal inner circle is back: Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs, Ned Dennehy as Charlie Strong, and Ian Peck as Curly. Jay Lycurgo joins as Elijah, Duke's second-in-command.

Notably absent is Paul Anderson's Arthur Shelby, whose death is referenced in the film's plot.

Connection to the original series

This film serves as a direct continuation of the television series that ran from 2013 to 2022. Steven Knight, who wrote all 36 hours of the original television series, returns as screenwriter, with Tom Harper directing. The story picks up six years after the season six finale, which ended with Tommy riding away on a white horse after naming his successors and leaving Birmingham.

Knight discussed the possibility of a feature film back in January 2021, before the sixth season concluded. Murphy expressed his willingness to return in May 2023, stating he'd love to do it if the story felt "legitimate and justified" after the series ended on such a high note.

The Immortal Man Review: What Works and What Doesn't

Cillian Murphy's performance as Tommy Shelby

Murphy slips back into Tommy's skin with profound weariness and resolve, delivering what many critics consider his finest work in the role. Post-Oscar win, he commands every scene with masterful gravitas, bringing an unexpectedly emotional flourish to a character he's inhabited across 36 episodes. His screen presence remains magnetic, particularly in a standoff with a young soldier that re-establishes the menace behind his icy stare. Murphy, leaving everything on the field, makes the film worth watching despite its flaws.

The performance shines brightest when exploring Tommy's haunted interior life. Murphy conveys deep sadness and moral struggle through a character now reduced to writing memoirs, smoking opium, and confronting ghosts in his decaying manor. However, the script gives him little beyond recycled trauma, cod-Shakespearean voiceover, and portentous murmuring.

Story and screenplay quality

Steven Knight's screenplay generates divided reactions. Some praise the snappy dialog quotable for years, whereas others find the father-son exchanges overly overt. The narrative suffers from feeling simultaneously overstuffed and undercooked. There's too much crammed into the two-hour runtime, with Knight apparently unable to figure out what to focus on and what to leave out.

The story borrows heavily from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, essentially turning Tommy into Batman. It recycles the classic "gangster pulled back for one last job" setup, adding Shakespearean elements by way of Snatch with Michael Bay antics thrown in. The melodramatic peaks and valleys sometimes border on silly, with outsized emotional reactions that betray the feature-length format. By the time Stephen Graham arrives to lend gravitas to the harried denouement, the enterprise tips into self-parody.

Pacing and cinematography

The film's first half alternates between setting up Beckett's evil scheme and Tommy's countryside melancholy. This opening primarily serves as a haunting ghost story before Tommy is called to save Duke. Critics note a slow first act with abrupt mood changes and bleak atmosphere.

George Steel's cinematography elevates the material considerably. He lensed the film to accentuate the cold winter setting, offering triumphant shots like Tommy riding horseback. The period detail is sumptuous, bomb-blasted Britain shimmers magnificently, and the vibe remains achingly cool. Steel prioritizes clarity through evocative blocking and painterly framing, never straying into murky Game of Thrones territory despite frequent candle-lit night scenes. Director Tom Harper stages sequences with widescreen flair that's more overtly cinematic than the TV series.

Barry Keoghan and Tim Roth's roles

Keoghan brings feral charisma and volatility the film sorely needs. He combines his signature energy with ruthlessness, indicating how far Duke has drifted from Tommy's principles. The actor does exceptionally well portraying anger and unpredictability, though the writing leaves him underdeveloped. Some accent wobbles occur, but it's an explosive performance that channels the vim and ego Murphy brought to early seasons.

Tim Roth's Nazi antagonist divides critics. Some find him a fantastic, brutal villain with an eerie cadence, whereas others feel he falls short of classic Peaky antagonists, lacking the depth of Major Campbell or the fiery presence of Luca Changretta.

Is The Immortal Man Worth Watching?

For longtime Peaky Blinders fans

The reception among die-hard fans splits down the middle. At the Symphony Hall premiere, sustained applause and cheers erupted as the closing credits rolled. One attendee described the moment as the film getting "a lot of love," with audience members staying through the entire credit sequence. Some fans called it a "perfect send off to the entire series," moved to tears by the ending.

Critics acknowledge the film delivers what loyalists expect. It's dutiful fan service that will "certainly please fans ready to bid farewell to the original generation of the Peaky Blinders in style". The pacing eventually picks up, "tapping into the energy that made people love it in the first place". Fans of the show's shootouts won't be disappointed by the culmination. Multiple reviewers confirm it "ticks most of the boxes for Peaky Blinders fans", with words like "emotional," "worthy," and "powerful" circulating among early viewers.

On the other hand, some longtime followers feel let down. Fans expecting a "spectacle-filled blockbuster will inevitably be let down," with some wishing for a full-length season instead. One viewer complained the plotline felt "completely muddled" from what the series built, particularly regarding character choices that seemed to derail Tommy's arc. The film "traffics only in the late stages of Shelby's arc, but offers nothing new to those who have already been there".

For newcomers to the series

Steven Knight addressed newcomer accessibility directly during a Reddit AMA, stating: "You can come to the movie without ever seeing the series and still get it and hopefully love it". Critics support this claim, noting "strangers won't be too overwhelmed" and the film remains "not unapproachable to viewers who aren't entirely au fait with the show". Newcomers "won't find too much to complain about," though those with prior knowledge will "possibly have a better time".

As opposed to being a standalone success, the results are mixed. Knight intended the film "purely as a reward for those who have committed years of their lives to this story", making it "far more demanding for those watching who have not experienced the television series". However, Knight did compile viewing recommendations for those short on time. He suggests watching three essential episodes: the series premiere to understand Tommy's character, the season two finale showing Tommy's confrontation with mortality, and the series finale depicting his symbolic transition from riding a black horse to a white one.

Cinematic experience vs streaming at home

The film deserves the big screen treatment. Multiple critics confirm this is "absolutely a 'proper' movie and one that you wouldn't regret seeing on the big screen". It's "a film well worth a trip to the cineplex", with director Tom Harper and screenwriter Steven Knight ramping up what was already cinematic on TV to fill an IMAX screen.

The Immortal Man releases in select theaters on March 6, 2026, followed by a global Netflix debut on March 20, 2026. On condition that you want Tommy Shelby's story experienced with proper atmosphere and that anachronistic soundtrack hitting through cinema speakers, catch the limited theatrical run. Otherwise, waiting two weeks for the Netflix release offers the comfort of watching at home, subtitles included for those thick Birmingham accents.

Best Shows Like Peaky Blinders on Netflix

After watching The Immortal Man, you'll likely crave more period crime dramas with that same gritty atmosphere. Netflix hosts several shows that capture similar themes.

Boardwalk Empire

HBO's Boardwalk Empire stands as the closest cousin to Peaky Blinders. Set during the 1920s Prohibition era in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the show follows Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, a corrupt treasurer who builds a bootlegging empire. Steve Buscemi delivers a commanding performance in the lead role, supported by an ensemble cast including Michael Shannon. Martin Scorsese directed the pilot episode, which cost $18 million to produce and set the tone for the entire series.

The show ran for five seasons and netted 20 Emmys during its run. What makes this particularly relevant: Stephen Graham, who played Hayden Stagg in Peaky Blinders season six, portrayed Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire. Both shows feature fictionalized takes on historical figures, handsome period costumes, and operatic dramatic themes. Identically to Peaky Blinders, Boardwalk Empire follows a crime family leader navigating business and personal battles in a city shadowed by larger metropolitan areas.

Narcos

Wagner Moura's portrayal of Pablo Escobar in Narcos mirrors the ruthless ambition Tommy Shelby displayed throughout Peaky Blinders. The show chronicles how Escobar oversaw the Medellín Cartel in Colombia with the same cunning strategy Tommy used in Birmingham's criminal underworld. Both protagonists use sharp minds to expertly plan their moves, with political undertones woven throughout their criminal endeavors. The post-WWI economic struggles in Peaky Blinders juxtapose fascinatingly with the rise of Colombia's cocaine trade in the 1980s.

Ozark

Jason Bateman and Laura Linney lead this dark family tale about survival at any cost. The Byrde family relocates from Chicago to Missouri's Ozarks region to establish a money laundering operation for a Mexican drug cartel. In similar fashion to the Shelbys, the Byrdes forge a violent path toward legitimizing their criminal activities.

The Last Kingdom

This period drama set during the Viking Age offers historical authenticity in a different era, appealing to those who appreciated Peaky Blinders' attention to period detail.

Other Shows Like Peaky Blinders to Watch Next

Six more tv shows like peaky blinders span different platforms and eras, each offering that same blend of period grit and criminal intrigue.

Taboo

Steven Knight reunited with Tom Hardy for this 2017 FX series set in 1814 London. Hardy stars as James Delaney, an adventurer returning from Africa to claim his inheritance and battle the East India Company over valuable land. The show explores early-19th century British corruption with the expensive-but-dirty vibe Peaky Blinders fans recognize. Season two remains in development, though both Knight and Hardy stay busy with other projects.

Gangs of London

Joe Cole, who played John Shelby in Peaky Blinders, leads this modern-day crime thriller created by Gareth Evans. After London's most powerful underworld figure gets assassinated, his son Sean fights to maintain control while an undercover cop infiltrates the organization. Evans, the action maestro behind The Raid franchise, delivers bone-crunching fight scenes that surpass even Peaky Blinders' intensity.

The Sopranos

Without Tony Soprano there would be no Tommy Shelby. James Gandolfini's portrayal of the troubled mob boss forever changed television, paving the way for morally gray protagonists like Thomas Shelby. The Writers Guild of America called it the best-written TV show ever.

Warrior

Based on Bruce Lee's original writings, this series follows Chinese immigrant Ah Sahm during the 1870s San Francisco Tong Wars. Andrew Koji delivers exceptional fight sequences in what became a three-season run before cancelation. Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon serves as executive producer.

Ripper Street

Matthew Macfadyen and Jerome Flynn star in this underrated Victorian crime drama set six months after the Jack the Ripper murders. Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team navigate London's East End across five compelling seasons.

Deadwood

Ian McShane's Al Swearengen ranks among television's greatest characters in this HBO Western depicting 1870s South Dakota. The series ran three seasons before concluding with a 2019 film.

Conclusion

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man offers Cillian Murphy at his finest, though the screenplay doesn't always match his brilliance. Given that you've invested years following the Shelbys, this film provides a fitting farewell despite its narrative flaws. Catch it in theaters if you want the full cinematic experience; otherwise, Netflix will deliver it to your screen two weeks later.

After all, Tommy's story might be ending, but your appetite for gritty period crime dramas doesn't have to. The shows I've recommended will keep you satisfied, particularly Boardwalk Empire and Taboo. Each one captures that same dangerous elegance that made Peaky Blinders unforgettable.