With Season 4 of BBC Two period gangster epic Peaky Blinders having begun shooting last week in Liverpool comes news of further casting for the next installment of the Shelby clan’s saga. Game Of Thrones‘ Aidan Gillen has joined Steven Knight’s award-winning drama along with Happy Valley and The Last Kingdom actress Charlie Murphy.
In what’s sure to be the subject of much speculation among series fans, Charlotte Riley is also set to return as May Carleton, the champion horse trainer and former lover of Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby. Riley last appeared in Season 2 which cliffhanged in part on who Tommy would choose as a bride. That was quickly resolved in the first episode of Season 3 when the conflicted gangster married Grace Burgess (Annabelle Wallis), who shortly went on to meet her demise from a bullet meant for her husband.
There’s no word yet on Gillen or Charlie Murphy’s roles, nor confirmation at this point of what Riley’s return means. The casting news follows last week’s Deadline exclusive that Adrien Brody is a also new addition to Season 4.
Knight says, “We have a dream team gathered for series four of Peaky Blinders, coming to us for love of the series which is great. Adrien Brody, Aidan Gillen and Charlie Murphy give us a wealth of talent to work with. And with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley returning, we couldn’t have hoped for more.”
As previously noted, core cast members Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Joe Cole, Sophie Rundle, Finn Cole, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Kate Phillips are returning. So is Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons. Regulars Natasha O’Keefe and Packy Lee are also back.
The logline for Season 4, as revealed last week, reads: When he receives a mysterious letter on Christmas Eve, Thomas Shelby realises that the Peaky Blinders are in danger of annihilation. As the enemy closes in, Shelby flees his country house and returns to the streets of Small Heath, Birmingham where a desperate fight for survival begins.
Peaky Blinders is a Caryn Mandabach and Tiger Aspect Drama production for BBC Two, executive produced by Knight, Mandabach, Will Gould, Jamie Glazebrook, Frith Tiplady and Cillian Murphy; and for the BBC, Stephen Wright.
The show is represented internationally by Endemol Shine International and has sold in 163 countries. It airs on Netflix in the U.S.
Gillen is repped by Michael Greene, Greene & Associates Talent Agency, Coronel Group in the U.S. and Independent Talent Group in the UK. Charlie Murphy is with Gersh and Lisa Richards Agency; Riley with ICM Partners and Conway van Gelder Grant.
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