Each episode of House of Guinness has a disclaimer – that this fiction gets its basis on some true stories. The stories that viewers see here are about the Guinness family, a family that, according to Edward, has a curse. Louis Partridge plays youngest Edward, passionate about beer, his curse is his ties to Arthur. Anthony Boyle plays the eldest boy Arthur, presumed heir to the brewery even despite Edward’s work. Edward wants Arthur to be in politics, which works for Arthur because his boyfriend is in London. The family, though, wants him to marry and he chooses Lady Olivia Hedges (Danielle Galligan). Benjamin (Fionn O’Shea) has two curses – alcoholism and adultery, the latter also being the curse of his other siblings.

Anne (Emily Fearn) is the eldest child but as a woman, her curse is also adultery, loving a common man. That common man is Rafferty (James Norton), and despite his past with Anne, they allow him into their inner circle. Their biggest problems are the Fenians, a movement that, back in the 1860s, thinks that Britain should free Ireland. One of their leaders is Ellen Cochrane (Niamh McCormack), who becomes moderate after meeting and falling in love with Edward. Ellen’s brother Patrick (Seamus O’Hara), representing the Fenians’ more radical side, and that radicalism feeds his hatred towards the Guinnesses.

There’s a lot of male energy in this show, unsurprising because it’s partly the brainchild of TV’s Steven Knight. Knight, for those who know, is also the force behind Peaky Blinders – it even feels like it’s using similar sets but with brewery fires. A lot of shots here are just Rafferty and the male Guinnesses walking around, talking to their workplace spies. House of Guinness, though, changes its energy as it introduces the family’s illegitimate cousin, Byron Hughes.

Jack Gleeson plans Byron, approaching his character like a gremlin, delighting those who get what he’s going for. I also anticipate that aside from Byron, the female characters Ellen and Anne will be fan favourites when this finally comes out. Another fan favourite may be Galligan, approaching her beard with feistiness. I already like Galligan because of her work in Shadow and Bone but her work in Episode 3 and beyond are wonderful.

Some of the siblings in House of Guinness fade into the background like Benjamin and sometimes Anne to a certain extent. I hope there’s more Benjamin next season, but that cliffhanger involving Arthur seems like that’s unlikely to happen. Arthur and Edward get the spotlight here obviously, and the show likes to delineate some really close parallels between them. The parallels also get too uncanny, especially during love scenes, like why are they getting sex the same time?

Despite my reservations against the sex scenes, at least House of Guinness balances it by depicting Ireland’s politics. Strangely enough, the political plots involve Byron, a Fenian, one of them trying to convince Edward to join the cause. Byron is also in contact with Patrick, both exiled to America, one loving it more than the other. Patrick’s presence reminds viewers of the masculine energy that the show is going for which balances out the slash fiction. The political themes also remind viewers that this is the second Netflix show about the nationalist movements during the 1870s that came out this year. That show is The Leopard from Tom Shankland, who directed five of the episodes of this season. For those asking, yes, this series shows Shankland’s yaoi tendencies. Nonetheless, the struggles of the Irish then, alongside the capitalist angle, feel relevant today.

House of Guinness is available to stream on Netflix.