Guinness Returns
Netflix Renews 'House of Guinness' for Second Season After Strong Streaming Performance
Key Points
Variety reports that critics in the U.K. and U.S. largely praised the first season as a “stylish, gritty and entertaining romp” through 19th-century Dublin, and it opened with an 89% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Variety says the show’s first season was an 8-part installment and was produced by Banijay-owned Kudos; it also notes that the series was “mostly shot in Liverpool and Manchester,” despite being set in Dublin.
Variety lists the ensemble cast, led by Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn and Fionn O’Shea, and including James Norton, Niamh McCormack, Jack Gleeson, Seamus O’Hara, Michael McElhatton, David Wilmot, Dervla Kirwan, Danielle Galligan and Ann Skelly.
What’s on Netflix provides additional viewership detail: by the end of the show’s fourth week in Netflix’s global top 10, it had amassed 118.6 million viewing hours.
Variety adds that creator Steven Knight told the Irish Mirror he planned a “Peaky Blinders”-style expansion—i.e., extending the story across multiple additional seasons (including season two and three).
Netflix has officially renewed Variety's breakout period drama *House of Guinness* for a second season, nearly nine months after its September 2025 premiere left viewers stunned by a cliffhanger gunshot ending. The renewal, confirmed on June 12, 2026, ends months of silence from Netflix that had fueled cancellation fears among the show's growing fanbase.
Production on Season 2 is set to begin in January 2027, according to What's on Netflix, pushing the earliest possible return to late 2027 or 2028. The greenlight was driven by strong streaming data — the show racked up 118.6 million viewing hours in its first four weeks and peaked at No. 3 in Netflix's global top 10.
Streaming Numbers, Not Buzz, Sealed the Deal
*House of Guinness* was not an immediate hit. Variety noted the show built its audience gradually rather than exploding out of the gate. But Netflix's renewal model rewards completion rates — meaning how many viewers finish all eight episodes — as much as opening weekend numbers. The series cleared both the engagement and completion thresholds Netflix uses to greenlight a second run.
What's on Netflix reported that the 118.6 million viewing hours came by the end of week four in the global top 10. That sustained presence, rather than a single-week spike, is what Variety says made Netflix confident enough to order more.
Creator Steven Knight Has a Multi-Season Road Map
Steven Knight, who built *Peaky Blinders* into a six-season franchise, has the same ambitions for *House of Guinness*. He told the Irish Mirror he plans a *Peaky Blinders*-style expansion — spreading the Guinness family story across multiple seasons and all the way into the 20th century. Season 2 will reportedly take the drama into the American market as a new frontier for the brewing dynasty.
The show's first season follows the Guinness heirs fighting for control of the family empire after patriarch Sir Benjamin Guinness dies. Set in 1860s British-occupied Dublin, it mixes toxic sibling rivalry with Fenian revolutionary politics. Variety compared its tone to both *Succession* and *Peaky Blinders*. Lead actor Anthony Boyle, who plays eldest heir Arthur Guinness, has said Knight privately shared what happens after the Season 1 gunshot — but told no one else in the cast.
Critics Loved It, Some Irish Viewers Did Not
Variety called Season 1 a "stylish, gritty, and entertaining romp." The show holds a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, according to Sacramento Bee. The ensemble cast — led by Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, and Fionn O'Shea — drew consistent praise. James Norton, Jack Gleeson, and Dervla Kirwan round out the supporting lineup.
But Irish audiences pushed back hard. *The Irish Times* reportedly labeled the show "dangerous popular history." Critics argued it portrays Irish revolutionaries as easy villains and applies what some called a "British gaze" to Irish culture. Adding fuel to the fire: the series is set in Dublin but was "mostly shot in Liverpool and Manchester," Variety noted, using St George's Hall and Space Studios Manchester as stand-ins for 19th-century Ireland.
Long Wait Ahead Before Season 2 Arrives
The gap between renewal and the start of filming is roughly seven months. Dark Horizons confirmed cameras are expected to roll in January 2027. That timeline puts the Season 2 release window at late 2027 at the very earliest, with early 2028 more likely. Netflix declined to comment on the renewal decision or the production schedule.
For now, the central mystery driving fan conversation remains unanswered: who was hit by the bullet fired at Arthur Guinness's political rally? Since the real Arthur Guinness lived until 1915, Head Topics reports analysts believe the shot likely strikes a fictional character — setting up a new power struggle at the heart of Season 2.
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