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Surprising success of crime drama Peaky Blinders
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On paper, Peaky Blinders looks like it would be a fairly niche television show: a period drama revolving around an uber-violent crime family, the Shelbys, operating in Birmingham, England, after World War I.
Debuting in 2013 on BBC Two, the second-tier channel of Britain's public-service broadcaster, the first two seasons did not make a big splash outside the country.
