‘A Lot Juicier Than Downton Abbey’: The Real-Life Family Drama Behind New Netflix Show House of Guinness

Published: 23 September 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

The latest Netflix series, House of Guinness, created by Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight, tells the gripping story of the Guinness brewing dynasty—a family history filled with political intrigue, business triumphs, rivalries, scandals, secrets, and personal tragedies. The series was conceptualized by Guinness descendant Ivana Lowell, who drew from her family’s hidden stories and historical conflicts.

Ivana Lowell was visiting her family at Castletown, the Palladian mansion in County Kildare restored by her cousin Desmond Guinness, when inspiration struck. While watching an episode of Downton Abbey, she realized that her own family history was far richer and more dramatic than the fictional Crawleys’ polite barbs. “Our family history was a lot juicier and more interesting than this—and it was all true,” she told the BBC from her airy East Hampton dining room.

Upon returning to Long Island, New York, she wrote a 20-page television treatment, narrating the triumphs and tribulations of her clan, descendants of Arthur Guinness (born 1725), the founder of the world-famous Irish stout beer, which now sells over 10 million glasses a day worldwide. A decade later, Steven Knight brought Lowell’s vision to life. Eight episodes of House of Guinness are set to premiere on Netflix on 25 September, prominently crediting, “Based on an idea by Ivana Lowell.”

Lowell, whose mother was novelist Lady Caroline Blackwood and grandmother Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, one of the renowned “golden Guinness girls” of 1920s British high society, acknowledges that telling the epic story was no simple task. The narrative spans six generations and weaves together commercial achievements, a rich philanthropic legacy, political maneuvering, and a host of family rivalries, scandals, secrets, and tragedies.

At the center of the story is the complex relationship between two brothers, Arthur and Edward, who must share control of the brewery. Arthur had expected full control as the eldest son, but his father’s will required him to partner with his clever but austere brother. Their complicated, often tense partnership forms the dramatic heart of House of Guinness.

Just as Steven Knight drew inspiration for Peaky Blinders from his parents’ childhood stories in gang-ridden Birmingham, he found the creative spark for House of Guinness through his conversations with Lowell. He said, “Ivana is an absolute mine of information and untold stories about the family going back years. Meeting her was the best research imaginable because you didn’t just get the stories—you got the family’s confidence, spirit, and a touch of madness. I was hooked.”

The show depicts a family in trade: successful, yet determined to expand their enterprise and manage a large workforce by any means necessary. Most scenes are set in Ireland (with Liverpool docks standing in for the St James Gate brewery), while a few take place in New York, where a Guinness cousin is sent to oversee international expansion. The story also portrays real historical tensions, such as the threat posed by the Fenians, Irish revolutionaries aiming to free Ireland from British rule, although the company was known for fair treatment of its workers, providing above-average wages and pensions.

Lowell explained her approach to character development: “How to find the right tone? I didn’t want them to be villains, but any businessperson had to be ruthless, especially in those times.” She created the fictional brewery foreman, Sean Rafferty, played by James Norton, who acts as the family’s ruthless fixer while remaining loyal and subservient to the Guinnesses.

Lowell attributes her storytelling abilities to her unconventional upbringing. Spending her childhood in under-heated, isolated mansions in Ireland and England, without television, she and her siblings entertained themselves by telling stories. Her early life was also marked by personal loss: the death of her stepfather Robert Lowell from a sudden heart attack, and her sister Natalya from a heroin overdose at 18. She only later discovered the complexities of her parentage, which she detailed in her memoir Why Not Say What Happened.

Knight’s adaptation of Lowell’s story results in a series that is fast-paced, dramatic, and full of intrigue, rather than a conventional period drama like Downton Abbey. It combines political plotting with the dynamic relationship of the two brothers, played by Anthony Boyle as Arthur and Louis Partridge as Edward, with sharp dialogue and compelling one-liners.

Lowell feels reassured that her extended family—including Daphne Guinness, fashion designer and actress, and writer Ned Iveagh—would not mind the airing of family secrets. “We are not high and mighty about our reputation; we have a very good sense of humor about ourselves,” she said.

Just as the Guinness beer remains popular among young and old, the story of the family carries energy, drama, and intrigue, making House of Guinness a must-watch. The series will premiere on Netflix on 25 September.