On September 25, on the Netflix platform premiered another miniseries — Irish historical drama “House of Guinness”. The story centers on a famous family, which, as you might guess, is behind the legendary Guinness brewery that gave the world the eponymous stout. The show was created by Steven Knight, the author of “Peaky Blinders” (2013—2022), which made me feel hopeful before watching it. Whether the project deserves to be glued to the screen, perhaps even with a glass of frothy, we are eager to share in the review below.
Pluses:
a moderately fascinating, though not very true story of world-famous brewers; good acting; good performance on a technical level;
Minuses:
the series is a bit heavy at the beginning; the presence of boring and unnecessary arcs; the show may disappoint those who seek more authenticity in relation to real facts;
“House of Guinness”
Genre historical drama
Showrunner Stephen Knight
Starring Louis Partridge, Anthony Boyle, Emily Fearn, Fionn O’Shea, David Wilmot, James Norton, Jack Gleeson, Niall McCormack, Simas O’Gara, Dervla Kirwan, Michael McElhatton, Daniel Galligan, Hilda Fay, Cassian Bilton
Premiere Netflix
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb
Dublin, 1868. The wealthy beer magnate and respected politician Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness dies. His four children — the ambitious Arthur, the responsible Edward, the good-natured Anne Lee, and the drunkard Benjamin — must now unite in the face of new challenges. Among them — their father’s last will and testament, which seems to be unacceptable to any of the offspring.
At the same time, the family is threatened by the hostile Fenians (members of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, who sought Irish independence), led by the radical Patrick Cochrane and his sister Ellen, who is used to relying on reason rather than force. This new page of the Guinness brewery is not only about the difficult decisions that a family business requires, but also about human weaknesses, a parade of hypocrisy, doomed love, undercover intrigue, insidious conspiracies. In short, the ups and downs of everyone involved.
In 2021, Sir Ridley Scott released the biographical drama “House of Gucci”, dedicated to the representatives of the world-famous fashion house and the tragic passions that raged around the Italian dynasty. Now it’s the turn of the world-famous brewers. Even though the lion’s share of the show is pure fiction, as the title at the beginning of each episode warns, things were hot within and around the family of at least on-screen Guinnesses.
At the beginning, the show is quite difficult to watch — it takes some time to get used to Steven Knight’s narrative style and to get into the numerous dramas and intrigues of characters who seem unworthy of our emotions.
Although Knight spices up the luxurious historical setting with a trendy modern soundtrack, creating an audiovisual counterpoint and thus promising that it will be fun, the story is unhinged for a long time. Among the songs, the most memorable is the incendiary Starburster by Irish post-punks Fontaines DC, which was also heard in “MobLand”. “House of Guinness” even has an analogue of Tom Hardy’s character — this time James Norton was entrusted with solving the “uncomfortable” issues of an obscenely wealthy family. And he looks great in his role.
In the early stages, the series gives the impression, if we’re talking about beer, of a mass-market table lager without much flavor, where the only thing that attracts attention is the bright label on the bottle. However, over time, the drama gains power, the story levels out, the stakes are raised, and passions boil on an industrial scale. The series is addictive.
Questions arise about the truthfulness of what is shown, although we should not forget that this is still a work of fiction, where such liberties are permissible.
For example, the homosexual orientation of Arthur Guinness’s eldest son is questionable, and there is no evidence of it (oh, that typical Netflix). No wonder the show was criticized by the fifth-generation great-granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Guinness, Molly Guinness, who, according to by The Times complained that what was shown was completely untrue. In particular, Edward and Arthur were made to look like fools.
We’ll leave it to historians to determine whether the on-screen images correspond to the real ones, but there’s little doubt that Guinness House is a worthwhile show. It will obviously be so if you are more interested in intrigue in the spirit of the hit “Succession” (2018—2023) than, for example, finding out why the official Guinness logo is a harp.
Yes, certain plot branches are less interesting than others (Game of Thrones’ Jack Gleeson and the New York arch don’t seem so necessary), and at times the series is boring, but overall, there are no regrets about the time spent watching the show. Starting from the fourth episode, the creators manage to keep the attention permanently, and they do it to the exciting finale. Everything is good in “House of Guinness” at the level of entourage, costumes, scenery, colorful Irish melodies that set a certain mood.
In general, Steven Knight’s work is solid, stylish, and moderately exciting. If you are interested in the frothy drink — we recommend reading our an article about Ukrainian craft beer. If you are fond of TV shows, Guinness House can brighten up a few autumn evenings. And for the most enjoyable leisure time, it’s not a sin to combine these two areas.
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