Peaky Blinders series gets endorsement from Snoop Dogg

“He told me it reminded him of how he got involved in gang culture,” says his showrunner, Steven Knight.

Before becoming one of the mascots of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Snoop Dogg became interested in the small screen. Steven Knightshowrunner of the hit series Peaky Blindersthus recalls a very interesting conversation between him and the American rap star:

“Ted, Snoop Dogg's manager, met me and we went up to the room.e, Knight recalled on the BBC show, “Desert Island Discs”. He had built a smoking thing that was about a meter long. I was drinking beer, Ted was drinking gin, and we had this conversation. Snoop told me that Peaky reminded him of how he got involved in gang culture. It was really interesting. He told me his life story. It was all about family: the one that keeps you in it, the one you escape from to do bad things, the one that always shows a certain loyalty despite its emotions, and from which you escape again and again.”

At first glance, you might think that Snoop Dogg has nothing to do with Peaky BlindersThe series, which began in 2013, follows the rise of the Shelby family, led by Tommy (Cillian Murphy), to the heights of organized crime. All this, in England in the 1920s and 1930s. As the seasons progress, the consequences of these illegal involvements fall on the Shelby family: mourning, addiction, prison, gang wars, toxic masculinity…

The parallel is then obvious with Snoop Dogg's career. A high school student in California, interested in Baptist choirs and basketball, he quickly fell under the yoke of the Rollin' 20's Crips, an ultra-violent gang closely monitored by several American intelligence agencies; which earned him a few trips to prison. Kicked out of his home by his mother at the age of seventeen, he escaped a conviction for gang murder at twenty-four. Music and success allowed him to draw a line under his troubled past, and since then, his public image has reflected a much less dark, lighter figure.

So, gang violence, as you see in Peaky Blindersno matter the context: Snoop Dogg, he knows him. Besides, this conversation with the artist made Steven Knight think. The screenwriter admits to having thus “understood that Peaky Blinders carries something quite universal at its core”.

Something universal, and which is sorely missed by its fans, who are trying to reassure themselves with the prospect of the final film, whose production is underway. Moreover, Steven Knight explained that he is doing everything possible to be able to shoot this Netflix-stamped feature film in the places that really hosted the activities of the Peaky Blinders – because the story of the Shelbys is inspired by real events.

“It’s as if 'Peaky' was coming homehe said on the microphone of Heart Breakfast show. I'm really looking forward to having events 'Peaky' where people can share the film. The social media community is very tight-knit, and people talk to each other, but being together physically will be really interesting.”

While waiting for this final chapter, the six seasons of the series can be (re)discovered on Netflix.

Rebecca Ferguson will be in the Peaky Blinders movie