House of Guinness: cast, plot and everything we know

House of Guinness lead cast
(Image credit: Dan Ollerhead/Netflix)

House of Guinness is a major new Netflix series created by Steven Knight, who was behind Peaky Blinders.

Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the makers promise it will explore an epic story inspired by one of Europe's most famous and enduring dynasties — The Guinness Family. 

The drama boasts quite an incredible cast led by Shardlake and Masters of the Air actor Anthony Boyle who plays Arthur Guinness.

Steven Knight says: "I am thrilled that we have such an exceptional cast and such an exceptional team to tell this story inspired by an exceptional family."

Anne Mensah, Netflix Vice President of UK Content says: "Steve Knight's scripts read like pages torn out of a classic novel, spinning the story of the four heirs to the Guinness fortune, and how their lives and loves are changed by it overnight. We cannot wait to see this story come to life through Tom Shankland’s inspired vision and his breathtaking cast."

The makers will of course be hoping that House of Guinness can match the success of Peaky Blinders, which became a global sensation and helped shoot leading man Cillian Murphy to stardom.

Here's everything we know about House of Guinness and for more great series check out our best shows on Netflix guide…

House of Guinness release date

House of Guinness doesn't have an official release date yet, but it has gone into production and a 2025 release date looks realistic. 

Plot

The makers tease: "House of Guinness will explore an epic story inspired by one of Europe's most famous and enduring dynasties — The Guinness Family. Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the story will reimagine the period immediately after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery, and the far-reaching impact of his will on the fate of his four adult children, Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Ben, as well as on a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness."

The important word in there is "reimagine" which tells you this won’t be historically accurate. This is hardly surprising as the show wants plenty of drama and also plenty of what actually happened to the Guinness family is unlikely to be known given how long ago it was. 

House of Guinness cast

Anthony Boyle as Jack Barak in Shardlake

Anthony Boyle as Jack Barak in Shardlake. (Image credit: Adrienn Szabo/Disney Plus)

Here’s the main cast and who they play: 

Anthony Boyle (Masters of the Air, Manhunt) — Arthur Guinness.

Louis Partridge (Pistol, Enola Holmes) — Edward Guinness.

Emily Fairn (The Responder, Black Mirror: Demon 79) — Anne Plunket (née Guinness).

Fionn O'Shea (Normal People, Dance First) — Benjamin Guinness.

James Norton (Happy Valley, Bob Marley: One Love) — Sean Rafferty.

Niamh McCormack (Everything Now, The Magic Flute) — Ellen Cochrane.

Seamus O’Hara (Blue Lights, An Irish Goodbye) — Patrick Cochrane.

Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones, In The Land of Saints and Sinners) — Byron Hedges.

Dervla Kirwan (True Detective: Night Country, Smother) — Aunt Agnes Guinness.

Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones, The Long Shadow) — John Potter.

Danielle Galligan (Shadow and Bone, Obituary) — Lady Olivia Hedges.

David Wilmot (Station Eleven, Bodkin) will play Bonnie Champion.

Hilda Fay (The Woman In The Wall) — Sultan.

How many parts is House of Guinness?

House of Guinness is eight parts. Tom Shankland (The Serpent) directs episodes one to five, while Mounia Akl (Boiling Point) directs the final three episodes.

Is there a trailer?

No not yet.

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!