The series is one of the most acclaimed of the year on the streaming platform
The series came from the mind of the creator of Peaky Blinders(Image: Netflix)
A Manchester business has revealed how they helped bring Netflix sensation House Of Guinness to life and the importance of having TV productions in the north.
In a year where the streaming service has dropped the likes of Wednesday season 2, the final season of Squid Game and Adolescence, their viewership charts have been dominated in recent weeks by an eight-part series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, House of Guinnness follows the family behind the globally renowned Guinness brand. Following the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, his four adult children enter a heated battle to become the head of the family business in a series full of twists and turns.
Boasting a cast which includes Say Nothing’s Anthony Boyle, Enola Holmes’ Louis Partridge, The Responder’s Emily Fairn, Normal People’s Fionn O’Shea, Playing Nice’s James Norton and Game of Thrones’ Jack Gleeson, House of Guinness has taken the world by storm.
While many people point to the stars, writers and directors when praising a series’ success, there are often unsung heroes who are essential to it coming together without a hitch.
Wainwright Film & TV Services have been working hard over the last decade to provide services to both Art Departments and Locations Departments. Transforming sets into immersive environments, the company carefully crafts every detail to enhance storytelling through ground cover, plant hire, woodland services, site clearing and repairs.
James Norton stars in House of Guinness on Netflix which was shot on location across the north west(Image: Netflix)
Speaking to Manchester Evening News about the business was Alex Corkill, who along with his co-founder Richard Wainwright, have been aiding productions through their 25 years of landscaping and forestry expertise.
“We almost fell into TV, our background is forestry and hard landscaping. We ended up doing stuff on season one of Peaky Blinders in Cheshire. Basically, they kept ringing us with ‘can you do this and can you do that’. I saw there was a demand for our skillset in the industry. We put adverts out there and over the last 10 years me and my business partner have got traction with it.
“We’ve been lucky really, we’ve made good contacts with talented people which has given us a lot of opportunities. More and more of those opportunities are coming, especially with Manchester being such a favorable place to film. It’s got some great architecture and locations people want to film here,” he said.
Alex continued: “We established our business in this about ten years ago, within the last five is when we started picking up much bigger projects on a higher scale. We’re even starting to quote stuff in London. I like film and TV, but ironically because we’re busy and I a little baby, I don’t have that much time to watch!”
Born in Wythenshawe, Alex is ‘really proud to be from Manchester’ and is adamant that it has ‘a lot to offer’ TV and film productions.
He explained: “It was all very much a London thing and I feel like people coming from London didn’t realise what we had to offer and we can deliver projects up here that they thought were only possible to do down there.
“There’s a growing confidence in the north moving forward that they’re incentivised to use local contractors. Since we’re based in Cheshire, we’re suited to service Liverpool and Manchester.
“I am very proud to be born and bred here, I feel it has a lot to offer and we want filming productions to come here. To use our architecture and stately homes, hopefully generate a lot of jobs alongside that and bring awareness to the city.”
When it comes to Wainwright’s foray into the world of creating entertainment, Alex noted that their job is to help bring the art director and a set designer’s ‘concept and visuals to life in a realistic way’’.
House of Guinness being filmed in Liverpool in 2024(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“They’ll come to us and say ‘this is the tone and mood’, then there’s the restraints on location in terms of time in, time out and budget. It’s our job to help deliver their vision. There’s really talented people who we’re super lucky to work with. Over the last few years, the people we work with have got better productions. It’s going from strength to strength.
“We stick with the art department, we’re in before the directors and sometimes we do standby on shooting days where they need some slight redresses.”
Recent years have seen members of Manchester and other northern cities becoming more and more excited when big productions come into town, including DC’s Clayface, which was filmed in Liverpool over the course of several weeks earlier in the year, highlighting on social media the tireless work that goes on behind the scenes.
“People are definitely recognising all the cogs in the wheel that are bringing a production together. It isn’t just the people right at the top. It’s everyone, from the bottom all the way up, who makes a production come to life. It doesn’t work without all those moving parts.
“People’s interest in our work can be impactful on a city and businesses. You’re banking on the fact that people find it exciting because it can interrupt their day to day lives. If people are behind it, it’s an easier sell for everyone.”
Having worked on productions such as Happy Valley, Fool Me Once, After the Flood and Peaky Blinders, Alex said that he often refers to his business as ‘the bridge between art and reality’.
“They show us the vision and we try to bring it to life. Period dramas are always our bread and butter,” he said.
Looking ahead to the future, Alex teased that Wainwright did work on Netflix’s upcoming Peaky Blinders film, but was careful not to give anything away about Thomas Shelby’s final outing.
“I have done stuff in Liverpool, one of the major scenes that they did. It was a bit of a grueler but we have some stuff for them,” he hinted.
All eight episodes of House of Guinness are available to stream now on Netflix