The death of a parent can be the most traumatizing moment in a person’s life. But for the four siblings at the center of the historical drama series House of Guinness — from Oscar-nominated Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight — the demise of their wealthy and aristocratic father is only the beginning of their problems. Things get complicated for the competing offspring of the late Sir Benjamin Guinness when the beer tycoon’s will is read. The new trailer for House of Guinness gives us a peek at all that happens ahead of its Sept. 25 premiere.
“Here’s a deceased father deciding the fate of his children. The will determines the trajectory of each of those siblings. What’s a better place to start a drama than that?” Knight tells Tudum. “They all receive whatever they receive. None of them are happy.”
From there, the eight-episode series unleashes an epic tale, inspired by one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties. Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, House of Guinness explores the fate of Benjamin Guinness’s four adult children — Arthur (Anthony Boyle), Edward (Enola Holmes star Louis Partridge), Anne (Emily Fairn), and Ben (Fionn O’Shea) — as well as a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness.
Grimaces abound in the trailer, which hints at the demanding (and permanently linked) futures promised to Sir Benjamin’s eldest son, Arthur, and youngest son, Edward. Boyle, who portrays de facto new head of the family, Arthur, explains that these two brothers “couldn’t be more opposite” even though their fates are intertwined. “They’re chained together — [with] these kinds of golden hoops around each other’s souls,” the actor says. “Arthur just wants to go to London, have sex, drink, smoke, and have the craic.” In other words, Arthur appreciates a good time.
Edward, on the other hand, is the brewery. He has spent years preparing to run the family business and is rarely distracted by the finery that comes with the Guinness name. “He is very principled,” Partridge tells Tudum about his character. “I like that Edward really knows what he thinks and he’s assertive. He can be strong when he needs to be, he’s confident.”
However, Edward’s mettle — along with the rest of his family’s — will be tested as House of Guinness threatens to explode like a powder keg. As charismatic brewery foreman Sean Rafferty (BAFTA nominee James Norton) announces in the trailer, “of course” there’s trouble when someone’s name is Guinness. Gunshots ring out in response throughout the clip, along with fiery explosions, guttural screams, and some vert sultry glances. Rebellion has come to the Emerald Isle, and it threatens to pour over everything the Guinness clan holds dear. If only this brood could work together to weather the coming storm.
“The decisions these characters make about personal issues will have consequences for the future of Ireland, which is quite a burden,” Knight explains. “The pressure adds fuel and energy to all of those relationships.”
While the writer and executive producer couldn’t access certain intimate details of his characters’ 1800s pasts — “There’s no Facebook, no Instagram pages,” he says — Knight did work tirelessly to create a faithful fiction, inspired by “remarkable” real-life past events. “What I had to do is take things that these family members did, things that they said, achievements they made, mistakes that they made, and use them as stepping stones. Then I had to fill in the gaps myself,” he explains. “It’s just a question of saying, ‘Here’s the character that I imagine this person is. This is why they did that.’”
Series star Norton can’t wait for viewers to pop open this stout yarn. “[The scripts] are rich, full of brilliant characters — a piece of history. Tonally, it’s playful, funny, smoky, sexy, and at the heart of it is a great story with a great family dynamic,” the actor says. “The show has everything — rich characters, brilliant relationships, and a sexy, textured world to learn about.”
See for yourself when House of Guinness premieres on Sept. 25. And for even more news out of the series’ tap, keep coming back to Tudum.
Historical Dramas to Stream Now