House of Guinness

House of Guinness is a historical drama television series created by Steven Knight, that focuses on the Guinness family during the 19th-century. The series premiered on 25 September 2025 on Netflix.

Premise

The series is about the family behind the Guinness brewing company in 19th-century Ireland and New York. It follows the consequences of the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, 1st Baronet, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery, and the fates of his four adult children: Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Benjamin.

Cast and characters

Main

• Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness, the eldest son of the Guinness family
• Louis Partridge as Edward Guinness, the youngest son of the Guinness family
• Emily Fairn as Anne Plunket née Guinness, the eldest sibling and only daughter of the Guinness family
• Fionn O'Shea as Benjamin Lee Guinness II, the middle son of the Guinness family
• Niamh McCormack as Ellen Cochrane, a local Fenian organiser who is committed to the Irish Republican cause
• Seamus O'Hara as Patrick Cochrane, a local Fenian organiser and Ellen's brother
• Michael McElhatton as John Potter, the Guinness family butler
• David Wilmot as Bonnie Champion, a Guinness exporter and kingpin of local illicit businesses
• Dervla Kirwan as Agnes Guinness, aunt to the Guinness siblings
• James Norton as Sean Rafferty, the warehouse foreman and head of security for the Guinness Brewery
• Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges, a distant cousin and business partner of the Guinness siblings
• Danielle Galligan as Lady Olivia Hedges-White, an aristocrat who agrees to marry Arthur
• Ann Skelly as Adelaide Guinness, cousin of the Guinness siblings

Supporting

• Michael Colgan as Reverend Henry Grattan, uncle to the Guinness siblings
• Tim Creed as Reverend William Plunket, Anne's husband
• Jessica Reynolds as Lady Christine O'Madden, Benjamin's closest friend
• Cassian Bilton as Michael
• Hilda Fay as Sultan, a nurse and resident of the Cloonboo estate
• Elizabeth Dulau as Lady Henrietta St. Lawrence, Benjamin's wife
• Nick Preston as Cahal Nelson
• Moe Dunford as William Randall Roberts
• Rob Houchen as Lord Arthur Clinton
• Declan Conlon as Isaac Butt
• Cúán Hosty-Blaney as Patrick

Episodes

Production

The series was announced in March 2024 with the working title House of Guinness. It is produced for Netflix by Kudos. The eight-part series has Tom Shankland directing the first five episodes and Mounia Akl directing the final three. Knight and Shankland serve as executive producers alongside Karen Wilson, Elinor Day, Knight, Martin Haines and Ivana Lowell. Series producer is Cahal Bannon and Howard Burch is the producer.

Filming began in Cheshire in the summer of 2024. Filming locations also include Stockport, Liverpool, and Dublin.

Release

The eight-episode series premiered on Netflix on 25 September 2025. The platform included Irish subtitles with the release, the first time they have been included on one of its titles.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 90% approval rating based on 51 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Overflowing with dynastic intrigue and the rough-hewn grit that distinguished creator Steven Knight's previous historical dramas, House of Guinness goes down smooth like a silky pint." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 72 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Although reviews from critics outside Ireland were generally positive that was not the case for reviews from Irish critics. Many critics compared it favorably to series like Downton Abbey and Succession.

Critical assessments of House of Guinness note clear instances of fictionalization. In particular, the series' depiction of Arthur Guinness's sexual identity is not supported by reliable historical or archival evidence and is therefore regarded by reviewers as speculative. Additionally, the character Sean Rafferty has no documented historical basis and is understood to be an invented figure created for dramatic purposes.

References

External links

• House of Guinness at IMDb