'Peaky Blinders' Creator Says You Should Watch These 3 Episodes Before 'The Immortal Man'

The Shelby family's progression from controlling the streets to being a major player in British politics has been chronicled across six separate seasons of Peaky Blinders. Fans of the Netflix-licensed BBC show who were bummed to see it end after 36 episodes weren't in the doldrums for too long, however.

Creatives announced that a movie following Thomas Shelby navigating life in a destroyed, post-WWII Birmingham would be released in March of 2026 called The Immortal Man.

But if you're new to Peaky Blinders and the trailer for the flick caught your eye, you might be wondering: Do you need to watch Peaky Blinders before seeing the movie?

While having a familiarity with the show's source material may help enamor you to the Shelbys and other characters, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight purportedly said that the film's designed to be enjoyed by anyone. So, there won't be any crucial plot points or references that'll fly above your head to ruin the experience.

Echo reported that Knight gave this answer directly to fans of the show whilst conversing with them during a Reddit AMA. A user on the site asked: "I am curious whether the film will feel accessible to people who have not watched all six seasons or if it requires familiarity with the full arc."

Knight replied: "You can come to the movie without ever seeing the series and still get it and hopefully love it," he told the curious Reddit user. However, with that being said, Knight did mention that there are indeed a handful of Peaky Blinders episodes to watch that would ultimately help folks to better appreciate The Immortal Man upon its release.

For starters, check out Season 1, Episode 1 to get a handle on where everything started for the Shelby family. "It really lays out what this whole series is about. It introduces Tommy Shelby in a way that I think makes it pretty unequivocal about who this person is. We see him riding on a horse in an industrial landscape, no words, just his look," Knight told the Redditor.

He went on to explain that this episode also gives a good overview as to what the stakes are for the Shelby family and why they go about doing what they do. "It really says so much about what Peaky is going to be about, and the whole episode is essential to know exactly what this family is and what they do and why they're so fearsome."

After watching this, Knight recommends that people watch the Season 2 finale, where Tommy Shelby faces the consequences of assassinating a military official in order to protect his life. The character has a gun pointed at his head in front of a grave that's been dug for him.

In that moment, a slideshow of his life and its regrets plays in his head after he asks for a moment to smoke a cigarette. Knight stated that the moments created in this episode truly lead viewers to believe that Tommy is going to meet his maker. Lucky for him, one of the men who had kidnapped Tommy Shelby to put him in the ground was working for Winston Churchill.

The prominent English statesman and eventual prime minister had a specific assignment for Shelby. This prompts the savior/captor to kill the other men he's with and free Tommy, albeit with some very specific work to get done in return for his life.

And it's life, Knight says, that Tommy ultimately desires most in that moment. "What that gives us is: Here is a man who is not sure if he wants to live or die ... we can see that he actually chooses life," the Peaky Blinders creator states.

And last but not least, Knight told viewers to check out the show's finale, Season 6, Episode 6, before watching The Immortal Man. In it, Shelby is wrongfully told he has tuberculoma (a brain tumor) by Dr. Holford, leading him to think he's a dead man walking. However, this turns out not to be the case.

After learning of the incorrect diagnosis, Tommy pulls a gun on the doctor, leading audiences to believe he'll kill him. However, he puts his gun away instead and rides away on a white horse. This imagery is significant, Knight says, as Tommy begins the series riding a black one. It's a choice that he says suggests Tommy is possibly cured of his melancholy-driven gangster ways and "that he's riding away to have a simpler life."

As of this writing, The Immortal Man can be viewed in select theaters and will be available to stream on Netflix come March 20, 2026.