Peaky Blinders viewers know that the show is set in dark, post-war Birmingham in England—but its not filmed there, with its filming locations somewhere else. It may be a surprise to hear that most of the street and interior scenes of the BBC series are set in another city in England entirely—and there is good reason for this. The post-WWI era of the show makes for some memorable visuals, and the setting of post-industrial Birmingham is almost a character unto itself. 

Peaky Blinders season 6, the final season, will pick up sometime after the cliffhanger ending of season 5. It was a troubling finale, with formidable gangster Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy)—a war veteran with PTSD—holding a gun to his head after hallucinations of his dead wife Grace (Annabelle Wallis) continue to torment him. This has led viewers to wonder whether Peaky Blinders will end with Tommy's death. The series is renowned for its slick dialogue, complex characters and gritty storylines. The explosive final season will see internal trouble rise in the Shelby family as Michael Gray (Finn Cole) makes a bid for leadership.

Related: Peaky Blinders Already Revealed Why Tommy Shelby Will Likely Die

But while the accents of the characters and the scenes themselves signify Birmingham at that time, the cast filmed much of the scenes in Manchester. The city, in the northwest of England, is well known for music and sport, but in recent years it has built a name for itself as being the perfect backdrop to a number of top-flight movies and TV shows. Spider-Man spin-off Morbius, for example, turned Manchester’s Northern Quarter into New York (via Manchester Evening News). Peaky Blinders director Anthony Byrne has revealed why Manchester was the right place to film the series, including the upcoming Peaky Blinders season 6.

Peaky Blinders poster

The simple reason for this filming location decision is that Manchester has the perfect look for the show. According to Byrne, Manchester’s diverse architecture, specifically the canals, bridges, and cobbled streets, make it the ideal place to transform into Birmingham’s Small Heath in 1934. Manchester became Byrne's muse in 2020 when he would walk the streets of Castlefield each day for exercise during the UK’s first Covid pandemic lockdown. He said: “We took over Castlefield in Manchester and turned it into the streets of Small Heath, Birmingham in 1934. This was a place I walked to everyday during the first lockdown and had the idea of turning this extraordinary location into the world of Peaky.” (via Instagram). 

The Garrison pub has been a key feature in the show since the first season, perhaps giving viewers a glimpse of Peaky Blinders' true story—after all, it is based on the watering hole where the real Peaky Blinders gang was believed to have frequented. The real Garrison Tavern is no longer open, and cannot be used for the purpose of filming, so instead, the interior scenes are filmed in Space Studios, also in Manchester. Byrne has revealed that the pub has had a bit of a makeover for the upcoming chapter, using the theme black and gold, which is important to the season.

It's not just Manchester that gets showcased in Peaky Blinders. Tommy’s mansion, which can be seen in the trailer for season 6, is another important landmark. Set in Arley Hall and Gardens, in neighboring Cheshire, the stately building is the place that Tommy calls home with son Charlie. It has seen its fair amount of violence, such as the dramatic ambush scene in season 4 with Luca Changretta—a dream role for Adrien Brody—and Aberama Gold (Aiden Gillen). The city of Liverpool also gets a mention in the filming locations of season 6: a political rally was filmed at St George’s Hall and will see the tensions between MP Tommy and the leader of the British Union of Fascists, Oswald Moseley (Sam Claflin). Peaky Blinders season 6 will additionally perhaps bring a moment of quiet for Tommy, who asks for forgiveness for his sins with Liverpool Cathedral’s stunning Te Deum stained glass window set behind him.

Next: Peaky Blinders Season 6 Needs To Fix Arthur's Tommy Shelby Problem