Peaky Blinders series 4: Start time, cast and what to expect from the return of the BBC Two drama starring Cillian Murphy

*Mild spoilers ahead*
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Aime Grant Cumberbatch15 November 2017

This article features mild spoilers for the fourth series of Peaky Blinders.

It’s the moment Peaky Blinders fans have been waiting for - the hit gang drama is back on the BBC, with plenty of punch-ups, shoot-outs and family drama sure to follow.

Here’s what to expect from the new episodes.

1. There’s trouble for the Shelbys but they should escape execution… just

Ahead of the series premiere the BBC has gifted fans a sneak peek at the first two minutes of the episode. The nerve-wracking clip shows incarcerated members of the Shelby clan – Polly, John, Arthur and Michael – being led to nooses from their cells.

While we’re not 100% sure of their fate, it’s pretty safe to assume that Tommy (Cillian Murphy), the head of the family and one of its only members to not be behind bars, will stage a swashbuckling escape for his nearest of kin – or else it will be quite a quiet series four.

2. Tommy reunites his family to face a new enemy

Much of the promo for the new episodes has centred around Tommy persuading his family to set aside their differences and band together once more to face a new threat.

Holed up in his mansion, the ringleader has managed to alienate himself from most of his clan after turning them over to the law at the end of series three. Aunt Polly is still broken by the betrayal, while Arthur continues to try and overcome his many demons via a lot of digging.

But nothing unites quite like a common enemy. And a new rival from American-Italian mobster gang the Changrettas who's been teased by producers as ‘the biggest threat the Shelbys have faced yet', should help Tommy persuade his family to forgive him or at least tolerate him.

3. Adrien Brody is the latest Hollywood star set to join the cast

Following in the footsteps of stars Murphy and Tom Hardy, show bosses have pulled a blinder and enlisted another Hollywood name – this time it’s Adrien Brody.

New villain: Adrien Brody as Luca Changretta
BBC/Caryn Mandabach/Robert Viglasky

The Oscar-winner will be playing Shelby’s series four antagonist – New Yorker Luca Changretta. Tommy’s Stateside dealings have caught the recently released prisoner’s attention for all the wrong reasons, leading to fireworks and showdowns back in Small Heath.

4. The focus looks set to be back on Birmingham

While previous series have seen the Shelbys expand their efforts outside of their native Brum, mixing with Russians and Americans, this series will see them return to their humble homestead.

Expect Tommy to be spending less time living it up in his mansion and more time crowded round the meeting table at Shelby HQ inventing new and elaborate ways to bring down Changretta and his men.

5. It features a new feminist heroine – Jessie Eden

With Grace gone, the series is down a heroine. Enter the quietly fiery Jessie Eden who helps introduce the new series' historical context - the 1926 General Strike.

She’s also set to prove a foil to Tommy as she takes him to task over the conditions and pay of the female workers at his factories.

New love interest? Charlie Murphy as Jessie Eden
BBC/Caryn Mandabach/Robert Viglasky

But, according to interviews with Charlie Murphy (Happy Valley), who plays Eden, despite their initial differences, the pair eventually establish a connection.

She told Bradford Zone: “With Jessie having done her research on Tommy, she has a real glimpse into what sort of character [he] was in the past before the war and life had tainted him … she unearths something that shows his vulnerable side.” Intriguing.

The character is based on a real-life machinist Jessie Eden who mobilised other women at the factory where she worked to strike in protest against conditions which saw their toilet breaks timed and pay reduced.

6. The new series will be six episodes long

Like series three before it, the drama of the new season will unfold across six episodes, with the finale due to air on December 20.

Peaky Blinders returns to BBC Two on November 15 at 9pm.

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