Created by Steven Knight.
House of Guinness was released on September 25, 2025.
Distributed by Netflix.
Series Review
House of Guinness is a drama about the famous Guinness brewing family in Ireland.
The show takes us into the world of business, family power struggles, and personal conflicts.
It follows brothers Arthur and Edward as they fight over the future of the family legacy, while love, politics, and betrayal complicate their lives.
The actors give strong performances, especially Anthony Boyle and Louis Partridge, and the cast around them makes the story richer.
The series looks beautiful, with great set designs and music that match the time period.
Some parts of the story feel rushed or a little too dramatic, but overall it keeps viewers hooked with family drama and big moments.
If you like shows about powerful families, business empires, or stories with political and personal battles, House of Guinness is a solid watch that mixes history, emotion, and style in an engaging way.
Ratings
• IMDb: 7.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
• Google Audience Score: 67% liked this TV show.
House of Guinness Actors
Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness
DOB: 8 June 1994.
Bio: Irish actor who gained prominence through his stage work before moving into film and television.
Trained in theatre, Boyle earned early acclaim for electrifying, nuanced performances that combine vulnerability with simmering intensity.
He has since expanded into prestige TV and film, known for bringing emotional depth and moral complexity to layered characters.
Role: Arthur Guinness is the eldest son of the Guinness family, recently returned from London and suddenly thrust into co-managing the brewery following his father’s death.
He is charming yet volatile, politically ambitious, and at the center of familial conflicts over the company’s future.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (8 eps).
What to Expect: A layered, often unpredictable turn: Arthur’s private life and public ambitions collide, producing scenes that are as tender as they are explosive.
Interesting facts: Boyle has a strong theatre background (West End/Broadway) and has said he enjoys characters that reveal surprising moral contradictions.
Notable Works: Master of the Air, Say Nothing, Manhunt.
Louis Partridge as Edward Guinness
DOB: June 3, 2003.
Bio: English actor who gained recognition with Enola Holmes and has since built a diverse résumé across period dramas and contemporary roles.
He is known for bringing boyish charm, emotional depth, and subtle sensitivity to characters navigating complex personal and familial dynamics.
Role: Edward Guinness is the younger brother tasked with co-managing the family brewery alongside Arthur.
More business-minded and reform-oriented than his elder sibling, Edward advocates for worker benefits and expansion into new markets while grappling with personal isolation and the pressures of family legacy.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (8 eps).
What to Expect: A quietly determined performance that grounds the family’s business disputes in human feeling.
Interesting facts: Partridge has become a high-profile young star, and his off-screen attention (including high-profile public relationships) has increased interest in the series.
Notable Works: Enola Holmes films, Pistol, Disclaimer, The Lost Girls.
Emily Fairn as Anne Plunket (née Guinness)
DOB: September 16, 1998.
Bio: English actor from Liverpool and a Guildhall School of Music & Drama graduate.
She has quickly gained attention for her expressive, nuanced work across contemporary and period productions.
Fairn often portrays characters whose composed exterior conceals deep emotional complexity.
Role: Anne is Arthur and Edward’s sister, confident, socially commanding, and committed to philanthropy as she struggles with personal loss and health scares.
Anne’s moral concerns and social standing make her a key emotional actor in family dynamics.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (8 eps).
What to Expect: A performance that mixes social polish with quietly devastating scenes of private pain.
Interesting facts: Fairn’s theatre training shows in her control and timing; she’s one of the newer faces anchoring the show’s younger generation.
Notable Works: Mary & George, The Responder, Rain Dogs.
Fionn O’Shea as Benjamin Lee Guinness II
DOB: January 2, 1997.
Bio: Irish actor known for nuanced, emotionally layered performances in both film and television.
He often excels at portraying characters quietly undone by circumstance, combining vulnerability with subtle intensity.
Role: Benjamin, the troubled Guinness sibling, struggles with addiction and emotional fragility.
His personal battles provide a poignant, tragic counterpoint to the family’s public ambitions and internal power struggles.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (7 eps).
What to Expect: A raw, sometimes heartbreaking portrayal of a man losing his grip while the family’s pressures mount.
Interesting facts: O’Shea’s earlier breakout in Dating Amber showed his ability to play tender, vulnerable young men; here he uses that range in a period setting.
Notable Works: Handsome Devil, Dating Amber, stage/TV roles.
James Norton as Sean Rafferty
DOB: July 18, 1985.
Bio: English actor acclaimed for his work in television and film, including Happy Valley, Grantchester, and McMafia.
He is known for portraying charismatic, morally ambiguous characters with depth and nuance.
Role: Sean Rafferty is the brewery’s warehouse foreman and head of security.
He maintains control over the workers, enforcing order and loyalty, while his entanglements with the Guinness family, particularly Lady Olivia, create tension and scandal within the household.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (7 eps).
What to Expect: A physically assured performance with undertones of threat and forbidden intimacy.
Interesting facts: Norton brings experience playing complex supporting figures and leads alike, and his casting signals the show’s appetite for morally charged interpersonal drama.
Notable Works: Happy Valley, Grantchester, McMafia, film work.
Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges
DOB: May 20, 1992.
Bio: Irish actor best known for his iconic role as Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones.
After a hiatus from screen work to focus on theatre, Gleeson has returned to television with roles that emphasize intensity, nuance, and morally complex characters.
Role: Byron Hedges is a distant cousin of the Guinness family with Fenian roots, who arrives with plans to expand the brewery into the American market.
His presence complicates both family politics and international business dealings, challenging the siblings’ authority and strategies.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (6 eps).
What to Expect: A charismatic, slightly roguish turn that brings energy to the American expansion plotline.
Interesting facts: Gleeson has returned to screen work after years concentrating on stage, and his casting generated buzz because of his Game of Thrones legacy.
Notable Works: Game of Thrones, The Sandman, Reign of Fire.
Niamh McCormack as Ellen Cochrane
DOB: January 17, 2001.
Bio: Irish actor with growing credits in film and television.
She often portrays politically engaged, sharp young women who challenge authority and influence the narrative through intelligence and determination.
Role: Ellen Cochrane is a Fenian organiser whose political activism and personal connections create tension with the Guinness family, particularly Edward.
Her cunning, independence, and moral clarity make her central to the series’ political subplot.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (8 eps).
What to Expect: A fiery, clear-eyed performance that embodies the series’ political currents.
Interesting facts: McCormack is among the young Irish actors gaining steady international exposure through film and TV projects.
Notable Works: Who We Love, The Magic Flute.
Seamus O’Hara as Patrick Cochrane
DOB: June 25, 1990.
Bio: Northern Irish actor with extensive stage and screen experience.
He is known for bringing both earnestness and physicality to his roles, often portraying characters with layered moral complexity.
Role: Patrick Cochrane is Ellen’s brother and a dedicated Fenian operative.
He becomes entangled in dangerous schemes, with his personal story intersecting with Arthur Guinness’s secretive undertakings, adding tension and intrigue to the plot.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (5 eps).
What to Expect: A performance that moves between revolutionary machismo and intimate vulnerability.
Interesting facts: O’Hara has great appeal in contemporary Irish storytelling and often appears in politically tinged projects.
Notable Works: An Irish Goodbye, Three Keenings.
Michael McElhatton as John Potter
DOB: September 12, 1963.
Bio: Irish actor and writer with a long career in film, television, and theatre.
He is celebrated for portraying sardonic, world-weary characters with a mix of sharp wit and quiet menace.
Role: John Potter is the Guinness family’s butler, an observant presence who keeps the household functioning while discreetly managing its many secrets.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (8 eps).
What to Expect: Understated but key moments where Potter’s knowledge and loyalty shape outcomes.
Interesting facts: McElhatton is widely known for roles that fuse menace and wit; he brings that blend here to a domestic role with outsized narrative impact.
Notable Works: Game of Thrones, The Hallow, Justice League.
David Wilmot as Bonnie Champion
DOB: N/A
Bio: Veteran Irish actor with a long career spanning film, television, and theatre.
He is known for bringing gravitas and nuance to morally complex characters, often occupying the grey areas of a story with subtlety and authority.
Role: Bonnie Champion is a powerful exporter and underworld figure who oversees the brewery’s export business and other illicit operations.
He is both influential and morally ambiguous, serving as a shadowy counterbalance to the Guinness family’s ambitions.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (5 eps).
What to Expect: A layered antagonist/antihero whose business instincts and street smarts complicate the family’s fortunes.
Interesting facts: Wilmot’s theatre background and decades on screen inform his ability to play complex local power brokers believably.
Notable Works: Intermission, The Guard, Station Eleven (TV).
Dervla Kirwan as Agnes Guinness
DOB: October 24, 1971.
Bio: Veteran Irish actor with decades of experience in television, film, and stage.
She is known for portraying strong, socially aware women who navigate complex family dynamics and societal expectations.
Role: Agnes is the family’s aunt, socially connected and influential, who helps shape the family’s public image and private decisions.
Her perspective adds generational tension to the family drama.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 (7 eps).
What to Expect: Poised, authoritative scenes that underline class, reputation and social maneuvering.
Interesting facts: Kirwan’s long career includes both comic and deeply dramatic parts across British and Irish TV.
Notable Works: Smoother, Ondine, Father Ted.
Danielle Galligan as Lady Olivia Hedges-White
DOB: December 1, 1992.
Bio: Irish actor who transitioned from a strong theatre background into prominent TV and film work.
She is known for portraying determined, fiercely intelligent women with layered motives, bringing emotional depth and nuance to complex characters.
Role: Lady Olivia is a landed gentlewoman who enters a pragmatic “lavender marriage” with Arthur Guinness but quietly pursues her own ambitions and intimate affairs.
Seasons & Episodes: Season 1 — recurring / major supporting (8 episodes).
What to Expect: A performance that mixes aristocratic poise with sharp, surprising private life choices that upend family expectations.
Interesting facts: Galligan has been noted for her work in fantasy and stage adaptations and brings theatrical intensity to this period role.
Notable Works: Shadow and Bone, stage work, film/TV roles.
More Actors
• Jessica Reynolds as Christine O’Madden.
• Ann Skelly as Adelaide Guinness.
• Hilda Fay as Sultan (nurse at Cloonboo).
• Cúán Hosty-Blaney as Patrick (warehouse worker).
• Elizabeth Dulau as Lady Henrietta St. Lawrence.
• Michael Colgan as Reverend Henry Grattan.
FAQ – House of Guinness TV Series
Is House of Guinness based on a true story?
The series is historical drama inspired by real people and events in the Guinness family, but it dramatizes and fictionalizes many scenes and relationships for story purposes.
How many episodes are in Season 1?
Season 1 has eight episodes, all released at once on Netflix.
Where was it filmed?
Although set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, much of the series was filmed in Liverpool, Manchester (including Stockport/Underbanks) and some locations in Dublin.
Will there be a Season 2?
Netflix has not officially renewed it yet, but creator Steven Knight and cast members have expressed interest in continuing the story into later decades. More on People
Is the series historically accurate?
The show is inspired by real people and events but takes creative liberties.
Critics note it dramatizes and fictionalizes many details for story and tone. Expect a blend of fact and fiction.
Conclusion
House of Guinness delivers a mix of history, family drama, and power struggles wrapped in an engaging story.
While it may not be perfect in pacing, the strong performances and rich storytelling make it a show worth watching.
If you enjoy period dramas with emotional depth and themes of legacy and rivalry, this series is a strong addition to your watchlist.