We love it when the story is about a dysfunctional family, especially if the story is true. Steven Knight, who gave us the wonderful Peaky Blinders (whose film is about to start filming) is responsible for the next Netflix series that promises to captivate us in 2025: House Guinness.

The focus of the series is “the epic story of one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties – the Guinness family”, yes, the one that owns the beer they produce. The idea is to reimagine the period immediately following the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the brewery, and the impact of this event on the lives of his four adult children: Arthur (Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge), Anne (Emily Fairn) and Ben (Fionn O’Shea), as well as people connected to the family such as Sean Rafferty (James Norton), Ellen Cochrane (Niamh McCormack), Byron Hughes (Jack Gleeson) and John Potter (Michael McElhatton), among others.

There will be eight episodes, filmed mainly in Dublin and it has not even been released, but House Guinness has already been compared to Succession. The Guinness family, with its noble lineage, with Counts and Princes, is very important in Ireland, of course, for its brewery, but also for its significant presence in banks, politics, and even the Church. Obviously, it is the brewing industry that will lead our interest.

In 1759, Arthur Guinness used the £100 inheritance left to him by his godfather to set up the family business in St James’s Gate, Dublin. Within 10 years, he was producing Porter, which would become known as Guinness in the 1840s, and by the time Arthur died in 1803, he was the richest man in Ireland.

The Guinness family’s power grew even stronger after World War I, as the vacuum left by the dead, traumatized, or financially ruined Englishmen led to the Irish family being granted titles of nobility by Queen Victoria. That’s right, they are nobles and merchants. However, behind the scenes, the Guinness family has always been considered “complicated” and it is likely that the House Guinness series will address the famous “Guinness curse”, due to the tragic deaths by suicide and murder that mark the family.

The chain that will be the backbone of the Netflix story is the heirs of Arthur (the eldest) and it is worth anticipating some facts.

What is the story?

Arthur II (Boyle) will have a political career as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the City of Dublin, where he supports “constructive unionism” and the rapprochement of Ireland with England. He eventually sells his share of the brewery business to Edward (Partridge), being elevated to the nobility, as Baron Ardilaun, of Ashford, in County Galway. Known for his philanthropy, he invested in landscaping and transformed Ireland into a tourist spot. Arthur was so famous that James Joyce mentions him several times in the classic Ulysses as an excellent Irish example of conventional Victorian respectability.

He will marry, for love, Lady Olivia Charlotte Hedges-White, daughter of the Earl of Bantry, in County Cork, but they will have no children. His titles will be inherited by his nephews.

Benjamin (O’Shea) will marry Henrietta, daughter of the Earl of Howth, and will move to England, where he will become a captain in the Royal Horse Guards.

Anne (Fairn) will become famous for her philanthropy, getting involved in causes that help the poor and sick of Dublin, and founding a training center for Church of Ireland nurses. She marries Baron William Plunket and has two sons and four daughters. Although happy, she suffers from a degenerative disease and dies at just 50 years old.

Edward (Partridge) is the Guinness World Record to watch. The Earl of Iveagh (pronounced Aivár) will indeed be the one running the business and will be Ireland’s richest man, but he is also a prominent philanthropist, remembered for helping the homeless in London and Dublin.

In the family business, not being the first-born, he started as managing director until he became chairman for life, buying out Arthur’s shareholding at just 29. He retired at 40, already a multimillionaire. His wife, Adelaide Maria, was his third cousin and a descendant of the Guinness banking family. They had three children.

Where do we know the cast from?

The great excitement is the union of so many good actors in the cast, that we can certainly list where you know each one from:

Anthony Boyle, we saw him in Manhunt and Masters of the Air.

Louis Partridge, who has the most “upcoming” role of the Guinness brothers, starred in Enola Jones and Pistol.

Emily Fairn is in Mary and George.

Fionn O’Shea is in Masters of the Air and Normal People.

James Norton starred in McMafia and is in Bob Marley One Love

Niamh McCormack is known to us in The Witcher.

Jack Gleeson and Michael McElhatton are unforgettable as villains among villains in Game of Thrones.

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