House of Guinness review: Hugely entertaining drama is Steven Knight's best since Peaky Blinders

In fact, the busiest man in TV has been bringing us a whole host of series, from historical hits like SAS Rogue Heroes and A Thousand Blows to modern-day misfires like The Veil.

However, no matter how good some of those shows have been, and how close they have come to glory, few would argue that he has ever quite reached the peak of Peaky - but with his new venture, House of Guinness, he gets as close as may be possible.

The new eight-part series, which is available to stream now on Netflix, is very much like Peaky, in that it has been inspired by real historical events and characters but has been zhuzh-ed up no end, with a modern feel and fictionalised elements thrown into the mix.

Based on an original concept by real-life heiress Ivana Lowell, it picks up with four siblings and members of the Guinness family after their father, patriarch and in many ways icon, Sir Benjamin Guinness, dies.

As you may imagine if you've ever seen a drama featuring a will reading, it leaves no one happy. His sons Arthur and Edward are given joint control of the business, and forced to run it together lest they forfeit their share of the inheritance.

Meanwhile, his daughter Anne is left only a nominal sum, as she is expected to live off her husband's wealth, and his son Benjamin, who has had troubles with alcoholism, is also left out in the cold.

The series goes on to chart their lives following this point - their business endeavours, their romantic pursuits, their ventures into politics and their own familial bonds.

Of course, there are plenty of other characters thrown into the mix, most notably James Norton's Sean Rafferty, the brewery foreman, family fixer and absolute wildcard.

Rafferty, the best character of the lot, is perhaps the biggest example of why this show works - because it isn't afraid to get a bit silly.

By silly, I don't mean ridiculous, slapstick or even particularly comical. It has funny moments in the way Peaky did, and the way some of Knight's lesser shows didn't, but it is for the most part played straight.

Within that though is the ability for the show to have a twinkle in its eye, a cheekiness and a sense of play that Rafferty personifies.

Knight loves to mythologise characters. We saw it with Tommy Shelby in Peaky and with Paddy Mayne in SAS Rogue Heroes. Here it's front and centre. As seen in the trailer, in the first few minutes we have Rafferty being asked whether there will be trouble at Sir Benjamin's funeral, to which he exclaims: "The man's name is Guinness - of course there'll be f**king trouble!"

There are so many big statements made about what it means to be a member of the Guinness family and how consequential everything is. It is - on any serious level - quite silly. But that's great. It's not enough to make you laugh out loud or dismiss what you're watching, but enough to raise a little smirk, and therein lies Knight's secret sauce.

He treads the line perfectly between being too serious and a little dour, and being so flippant as to ruin any buy-in the viewers have for the characters and their struggles. It makes the show utterly engrossing and, above all, really good fun.

As much as there is plot to enjoy here, and plenty of twists and turns along the way, Knight is still somewhat being driven by real historical benchmarks, meaning it can go in fits and starts.

There are time-jumps peppered throughout the run, and occasionally a big event will come along that in one way moves things forward, but in other ways halts progress or throws a curveball. This makes the actual narrative, the forward momentum of the plot, the weakest aspect of the series, and at times frustrating.

Thankfully, it really is little matter in the grand scheme of things, because the show is so heavily bolstered by some exquisite character work and phenomenal performances.

As already mentioned, Rafferty is the standout and James Norton really is on fire here. The character is a gift Knight has given himself, as his fictional nature means he can be any and all things at once - charismatic, threatening, charming, aloof, unknowable, excitable, he's a contradiction of a man, yet all of those disparate parts make sense in Norton's extremely capable hands.

However, that's not to sell any of the others short. Anthony Boyle continues his hugely impressive run of turning in winning performances, bringing us a character who is in many ways utterly frustrating, yet who still wins our affections.

Louis Partridge is also on top form, with his Edward being the closest thing the show has to an outright hero, someone whose decisions we can understand and get behind, even when they're the wrong ones. He and Arthur make for quite the duo.

From Emily Fairn to Fionn O'Shea, Danielle Galligan to Jack Gleeson, everyone is really inhabiting their characters and all of them are given their time to shine, even if Arthur and Edward do account for the bulk of the prominent story beats.

Beyond the specific details of the Guinness family's past, which may not be the biggest draw for even some of the more insatiable history buffs, the show's exploration of wider Irish politics and society at the time is worth watching for alone.

The story surrounding Irish Republican activist, or Fenian, Ellen Cochrane (played deftly by Niamh McCormack) helps to grant the series a wider scope and gives it more to say and talk about.

Not only does it provide more context for the lives of our central characters, but vice versa - we understand the implications of the family's actions far more because their effects are being felt by others that we care about.

It would also be hard to argue with the fact that this is Knight's most lavish production yet. His shows have never looked cheap or lacking in period detail, but here the money is really on screen, from the Guinness family's own grand houses to the neighbouring townships or New York, where Gleeson's character Byron goes on his own little adventure.

All of this serves to make the world feel lived in and expansive, which helps to validate its potential future. Even if the well runs dry about specific stories from the Guinness archives, just revisiting this tale of Irish history and these versions of the characters will feel enticing enough for most viewers.

Of course, there is the matter of the show's use of modern music to make everything feel that bit more contemporary and fresh. It's a divisive practice in media - for everyone who loves the atmosphere it creates, there are always those hoping for a bit more historical fidelity, a bit more of a sense of really dipping your toe into the past.

Unfortunately for the latter group, that's not what they're going to get here. This isn't a show for those looking for a classic period drama - instead, it's a jolt to the system, a stylistic rush of colour, excitement and, yes, plenty of modern Irish rap.

The truth is, if you're aware of Knight's work at all, and in particular if you're a fan of Peaky Blinders, then you may not be hugely surprised by any of the techniques he's using in House of Guinness.

In many ways, the writer is playing the hits, doing everything he does best and simply slapping a Guinness label on it. It turns out, though, that's really not such a bad thing.

House of Guinness is available to stream on Netflix now – sign up from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Add House of Guinness to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.