Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama television series created by Steven Knight, that premiered on BBC Two on 12 September 2013. The series is primarily set in Birmingham, England, and follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the aftermath of World War I. The fictional gang is loosely based on the Peaky Blinders, a real 19th century urban youth gang who were active in the city from the 1890s to the early twentieth century. Cillian Murphy stars as Tommy Shelby, the gang's leader, with Helen McCrory as Tommy's aunt Elizabeth "Polly" Gray and Paul Anderson as his older brother Arthur Shelby respectively, who serve as the gang's second-most senior members.