Cheers to ‘House of Guinness,’ which feels like an 1860s, Irish ‘Succession’

Steven Knight, creator of the intense British period dramas Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows, is back with a new, eight-part Netflix series. House of Guinness tells the story of the battle for control of the venerable Irish brewing company in the 1860s.

Let’s begin by noting the way Knight begins House of Guinness: He starts with a very unusual, and very freeing, disclaimer. “This fiction,” it says in a message superimposed on the screen, “is inspired by true stories.”

Right up front, that gives Knight the creative license to do just about anything he wants with his story and his characters, even though it’s taking its inspiration from actual events, locations and personalities. House of Guinness has been described as a sort of 1860s Succession, with the adult children of a very wealthy and powerful man jockeying to gain control of his empire.

And there were, indeed, four grown children of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, all of whom had their own ideas about what to do with his fortune and his beer-producing empire. But in House of Guinness, Sir Benjamin — Lord Mayor of Dublin, member of Parliament, owner of the dominant Irish brewery — dies almost immediately.

At the reading of the will, the parcels of the father’s kingdom are handed out — but unevenly, and with a purpose. The eldest son, Arthur, is forced to work with the youngest son, Edward, to run the brewery. The black sheep of the family, the wild child Ben, is severely restricted as to funds and influence — and so is the daughter, Anne, because … well, because it’s the 1860s, and she’s the daughter. Immediately all four siblings start scheming for ways to improve their individual fortunes.

Meanwhile, outside the family, other troubles are brewing. There’s Ireland’s recently won independence from England, and its ongoing rebellion against English rules. Those play out in Dublin, but also in New York, as the narrative, and the imported Guinness beer, find their way to America. And in both places, there are those who seek to bring down, or manipulate, the Guinness family — including a woman named Ellen Cochrane in Dublin, whose scheme involves blackmail.

Ellen, played by Niamh McCormack, is a great character — completely outside Irish high society, but completely unafraid of it as well. The Guinness sister Anne, played by Emily Fairn, is another wonderful character to watch. And so is Lady Olivia, played by Danielle Galligan, who finds a pragmatic way to enter into the Guinness family orbit. Three juicy roles — three extremely delightful performances. And the brothers — Anthony Boyle as Arthur, Louis Partridge as Edward, Fionn O’Shea as Ben … as in the stars of Peaky Blinders, every one of these players gets so many moments to shine.

Knight knows exactly how to bring period dramas, and period characters, to life. House of Guinness is full of intense confrontations and unexpected complications — and anyone who enjoyed Peaky Blinders, or Succession, or The Gilded Age, should find House of Guinness very satisfying to watch. But, to be honest, you might find it a bit difficult to hear. Some of these Irish accents can be tough to parse. I recommend using the subtitles setting provided by Netflix, so you can translate their English … into ours. But the story, and the intrigue — those translate perfectly.