By Robert Oliver
Copyright metro
House of Guinness has come in for some heavy criticism from a Guinness descendent (Picture: Netflix/PA Wire)
Brand new Netflix series House of Guinness – from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight – has already made an enemy.
The eight-part series, which dropped on the streaming platform on Thursday, follows the story of the family behind the Guinness brewing company.
Set in the 19th century and based on a true story, it follows the four children of Irish brewer Sir Benjamin Guinness after his death and the consequences of his death upon the beer business.
Just 24 hours old, it’s currently sitting pretty after being certified fresh and landing a strong critic rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes – but that doesn’t mean everyone’s quite so positive.
A descendant of the Guinness family has already lashed out at Steven Knight’s show, claiming that it’s ‘straight from a bingo card of modern clichés about rich people’.
Times Radio producer and former BBC staff member Molly Guinness, 38, is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Guinness, and hasn’t minced her words.
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Writing for The Times, she said she ‘hooted with laughter’ during the first two episodes at the perceived historical inaccuracies in the story about her family.
‘Every episode starts with the weaselly old Netflix disclaimer “This fiction is inspired by true stories,” so it’s art, I suppose, and I shouldn’t be a bore. Yet the more I watched, the more indignant I became.’
She continued: ‘It’s been about a century since the deaths of my great-great-grandfather Edward and his brother Arthur… but it still seems unjust to turn them into knaves and fools.
Podcast: Molly Guinness – Time Radio Breakfast https://t.co/nfHWBd4yrS from @RadioAcademy pic.twitter.com/LDznprva2E— RadioToday UK (@RadioToday) April 30, 2024
All eight episodes of House of Guinness dropped on Thursday (Picture: Ben Blackall/Netflix)
‘In fact, all the characters come straight from a bingo card of modern clichés about rich people… so I confess I did have an episode of righteous fury.’
Chief among her complaints were that Sir Benjamin was ‘unfairly’ characterised by House of Guinness as ‘[Succession’s] Logan Roy for 19th-century Dublin’.
But Molly did admit that she had based her opinion after watching the first two episodes, and that she was looking forward to hearing her family’s reaction to House of Guinness upon its release.
The Netflix series is based on a true story (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty)
‘They gave so much of their wealth to genuine causes’ (Picture: Heritage Art/Getty)
Speaking about his characterisation of the Guinness family in the series its creator and writer Steven Knight gave Metro gave a more balanced view than Molly’s column suggests.
He added: ‘The great thing about them is they are incredibly wealthy, and tend towards aristocratic, but at the same time have this seemingly natural affiliation with artists, writers and rebels.
‘Let’s not forget, over the years [the Guinness family] gave so much of their wealth to genuine causes, which I don’t think billionaires these days don’t necessarily feel obliged to.’
All eight episodes of the series dropped on Thursday, and some TV writers have speculated that an order for a second season might not be far away.
Metro has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Watch House of Guinness on Netflix now.
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