16 Episodes of Modern Peaky Blinders Masterpiece Kin Are Surprisingly Flawless

A different kind of gangster story

Peaky Blinders made its gangsters compelling partly through their hardship and the forces arrayed against them. Kin takes another route: its central figures are less misunderstood antiheroes than criminals whose actions remain difficult to excuse.

The series centers on Frank Kinsella, played by Aidan Gillen, and Eamon Cunningham, played by Ciaran Hinds. Their rivalry pulls extended family members into a long cycle of violence and retaliation.

Family caught in the feud

Kin’s cast also includes Charlie Cox, Emmett J. Scanlan, Clare Dunne, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Yasmin Seky and Danielle Galligan. As the struggle over territory intensifies, both families pay a heavy price.

The drama is loosely inspired by the Hutch–Kinahan feud, which has featured in Irish media coverage of organized crime for more than a decade. Rather than romanticizing the gangland world, Kin focuses on the damage inflicted by its characters’ choices.

Humanity without glamour

The show’s achievement is to make its characters feel layered despite their appalling crimes. In that respect, it shares a quality with Peaky Blinders, though Kin’s criminals are not presented through the same historical setting or glamour.

Kin also has a strong Irish crime-drama predecessor in Love/Hate. That five-season series combined grit with character-focused storytelling and featured Gillen, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Ruth Negga, among others.

A contemporary companion

Peaky Blinders ran for six seasons and continued with a spinoff movie, while Kin tells its story over two seasons. The article describes Kin as an 18-episode drama, though its headline refers to 16 episodes. Despite that difference in scale, Kin can feel like a present-day take on the formula that helped make Peaky Blinders resonate: a brutal criminal world, explored through characters who remain fascinating even when their conduct is indefensible.