I found the anachronistic soundtrack to be very distracting

House of Guinness unmistakably carries Steven Knight’s signature, and it’s clear in every frame that the same hand behind Peaky Blinders is at work here. The story dives into the Irish brewing dynasty with a mix of visual elegance, family tension, and an epic yet murky tone that hooks you right away. The atmosphere is carefully crafted, both visually and sonically. The soundtrack is a standout: artists like Kneecap, Fontaines D.C., Flogging Molly, and The Murder Capital inject energy, identity, and a modern edge into a narrative that, without it, might risk feeling too traditional. James Norton delivers a magnetic performance, full of charisma and contradictions, while the supporting cast rises to the occasion. The show thrives on intense characters, sharp dialogue, and a tone that balances rawness with spectacle. At times, it leans too heavily on style and veers toward posing, but overall it works as a vibrant historical fresco with personality. It may not be as tight as Knight’s most famous creation, but House of Guinness leaves its mark and offers quality entertainment.

This show is a case of Netflix throwing money at talent before a good script, much like Ryan Murphy’s shows for Netflix this was the same for the Peaky Blinders writer who wrote this show The show didn’t know what it wanted to be, the fenian sub plot was not needed especially because it wasn’t true, in other aspects the show tried to be a ‘history’ lesson of Ireland but without any real context, the constant use of swear words was lazy and stereotypical plus also inaccurate for the time period. The butler appears to have access to a helicopter because in one scene he’s in Dublin in the next he’s in the west of Ireland, a 2-3 days carriage journey? Like the rest of them he’s unable to not use the Fck word and it’s amazing he is able to manage not one but three separate houses. The family must be on hard times. In the first episodes the family are selfish and feckless but the next minute they are all charitable angels and making comments about learning Irish, again there’s no context. There’s also no context about social class as if it’s poor vs rich, and not merchant, vs aristocracy. While comments are made about aristocracy, they have the future spouse of one of the brothers, as the daughter of the Earl of Bantry arriving to Dublin with no chaperone. In the next episode she is willingly having sex with a foreman, 60 years before the scandalous Lady Chatterley's Lover? And no push back from anyone? Very unlikely The show also uses contemporary music which doesn’t work, yes you could argue that is similar format to The Great or Marie Antoinette, but it doesn’t have the same character development, writing and comedy as The Great and it doesn’t have the same common theme and vibe that was created in Marie Antoinette (2006) so it just doesn’t work. The director worked on The Leopard and you could tell because there was a lot of similar scenes made copy for copy, if only they had the same writer as they did for that show it would have been memorable. The show also took scenes from The Empress and it took styles and formats from Enola Holmes which again it didn’t work because the script and the story being told was just not working. There was enough about the Guinness heirs to make the show interesting without having to fictionalise 80% of it.

The similarity to Peaky Blinders and some elements of Succession are noticeable, and they manage to capture attention, and in future seasons the series may see constant improvement.

Eine wirklich gelungene Serie. Die Geschichte um die Familie Guinness ist spannend und gespickt von Intrigen. Die Serie macht Spaß und macht Lust auf mehr. Einziger Kritikpunkt: Der moderne Soundtrack passt nicht zu dieser historischen Serie.