Steven Knight: Birmingham City show ‘would’ve been a tragedy’ before US takeover

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has said his new series which follows Birmingham City, the football team he supports, “would’ve been a tragedy” if it had been made before the club’s US takeover.

Prime Video’s Built In Birmingham: Brady And The Blues, which Knight is executive producer on, will follow the football club as they are taken over by former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and US businessman Tom Wagner.

Knight told the PA news agency: “For most of my supporting Blues career, there’s been not a lot to make a film about to be honest.

“It would have been a tragedy or a comedy, or both, previous to this, and then when this thing happened, which most Blues fans still can’t quite believe, that we’re taken over by proper people with real money, and with ambition, then suddenly there was a story there.

“It’s the story that Tom Brady, who would win, and win, and win, takes over a team that loses and draws, and (has) just a completely different culture and ethic.

“It was worth everything just to be there when Tom Brady and Tom Wagner entered a pub called The Roost, which is quite a rough Blues supporters’ pub, just before a match and to see the two things come together in a really happy way.”

The series’ first episode shows Brady and Wagner sacking then-manager John Eustace with the club in the Championship play-off places, replacing him with Wayne Rooney, who takes the team into the relegation zone, leading to some tense moments between the former Manchester United striker and Brady.

Later in the episode, Rooney is sacked after the seven-time Super Bowl winner questions his work ethic, and the club’s relegation to League One, the third tier of English football, is shown.

Speaking about the show’s tense moments, Knight said: “Who wouldn’t need to learn stuff? They’re new to the country, new city.

“(There’s) fantastic moments in terms of entertainment, but I think Tom Brady would question anybody’s work ethic.

“It is so phenomenal, he just cannot bear to lose, it’s just not an option, and so anyone who isn’t doing absolutely everything they can, every hour of the day, to make success happen, is not pulling their weight. So, I did feel a bit for Wayne.”

 

Despite his new series and the success of Disney+’s Welcome To Wrexham, which details the rise of the Welsh football club under celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Knight believes the “scepticism” towards US owners in English football will remain.

He added: “This is football, no-one from another football team is going to go, ‘oh, really well done, that’s fantastic, really pleased’, that isn’t ever going to happen.

“We don’t expect it to happen and I think the more shrill the backlash, the more proof there is that we’re doing something right, because it’s worthy of attention.

“These are proper business people with real money who want to do this, have said what they’re going to do, and they’re doing it.

“I think we won’t ever win the hearts and minds of other football teams’ supporters when they’ve got their shirts on.

“But I think a documentary can, at least, when someone’s at home with the family and they’re back to being a normal human being and not a football supporter, they can see the story and understand, and probably reflect that we’re all the same.

“We all want the same thing for our club. We’re all unreasonable about our club. We all want us to win the Champions League. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

When asked about the upcoming Peaky Blinders film, which is due to be released on Netflix, Knight said he could confirm it would be released “soon”.

He said: “I can tell you it’s fantastic, and that’s not just my opinion, but that’s also the Netflix opinion, it’s really good. I mean, it’s brilliant, and we’re really proud of it, and it’s tested really, really well, and we can’t wait for people to see it.”

The original BBC series follows Tommy Shelby and his Birmingham gang of the series’ name, and has covered topics such as the rise of fascism, Irish republican politics and communist activities through the period following the First World War.

The Built In Birmingham: Brady And The Blues series will launch worldwide on Prime Video on Friday.