‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6 Investigated After Crew Angry Over Alleged Unsafe Practices
Fans of the Shelby family can’t wait for Peaky Blinders Season 6. The past five seasons of the TV series show Thomas Shelby leading his family business through personal and professional turmoil — and gang life nearly kills all of them. Now, the alleged final season has finished filming. But it seems the crew’s angry after production allegedly didn’t properly follow coronavirus (COVID-19) protocol. Here’s what’s going on.
‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6 had to make adjustments due to coronavirus
Like most shows in 2020, production had to make major adjustments for Peaky Blinders Season 6. The show didn’t keep its typical filming schedule due to the pandemic. Not only was scheduling delayed, but the show creators also took the time to fine-tune the scripts.
“It’s given us a chance to go back through the scripts again and really kind of nail it, in a way that … I mean these scripts were so, so good, and now having more time you go ‘what about this or what about that,'” director Anthony Byrne told Digital Spy. “And you go ‘s—, that’s a good idea.’”
Now, season 6 has officially finished filming — and fans can’t wait to see the finished product. “It’s a wrap!” the official Peaky Blinders Twitter announced on May 28, 2021. “Huge thanks to the cast and crew of #PeakyBlinders season 6. You’ve given this one everything. And it’s going to be epic.”
Season 6 is under investigation after allegedly breaking coronavirus protocol
While the cast and crew for Peaky Blinders Season 6 had coronavirus safety protocol to follow, it seems some of the protocol didn’t go as planned. The Guardian notes that the show’s producers continued filming after one of the staff members working on season 6 in May 2021 had a positive coronavirus test.
A spokesperson for the show then verified the coronavirus test was a false positive. But crew members were still allegedly upset by the situation, as they claimed filming continued for hours after the initial positive test. It took an additional staff member to discover the positive test and halt filming. Once the crew member with the positive test received another test and verified they didn’t actually have coronavirus, filming resumed.
Bectu, a union at the BBC, investigated the situation. “The safety protocols are in place to create a safe working environment for cast and crew,” The Guardian notes the union stated. “Therefore the production should have informed everyone immediately and stopped filming. Otherwise, a lapse like this could have contributed towards the spread of the virus. We are currently waiting for the production to respond.”
Is ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6 the last?
So, is Peaky Blinders Season 6 the final season of the series? Show creators verified yes. “This final season of our beloved Peaky Blinders is going to be the best one yet,” executive producer Caryn Mandabach explained to Deadline. “Steve’s [Knight] uncanny ability to be prescient about world events is only matched by his ability to make Tommy Shelby the most indelible character of our times.”
While the TV series will end, the Shelby family might live on. Knight noted he has additional plans to keep the story alive. “Covid changed our plans,” Knight explained to Deadline. “But I can say that my plan from the beginning was to end Peaky with a movie. That is what is going to happen.”
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