First Look at Steven Knight’s New Series ‘A Thousand Blows’

Stephen Graham in ‘A Thousand Blows’. Photo: Disney+.

Preview:

‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight has unveiled new period drama ‘A Thousand Blows’
The Disney/Hulu backed show is set in the violent world of boxing in 1880s London.
Two seasons have already been shot, with the first due next year.

Steven Knight is not a man to wait around. Even as the big screen follow-up to long-running period drama ‘Peaky Blinders’ is in the works, the prolific writer/producer has a number of irons in the proverbial fire.

And Hulu/Disney+ have now provided the first images of one of those irons –– another trip back in time to historical England, this time the melting pot of London’s East End and the unscrupulous world of illegal boxing in ‘A Thousand Blows‘.

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Set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London. Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘A Thousand Blows’?

‘A Thousand Blows’. Photo: Disney+.

The new show stars Malachi Kirby as Hezekiah Moscow, who finds himself thrust into the vibrant and violent melting pot of post-industrial revolution London’s East End from Jamaica.

Drawn into the criminal underbelly of the thriving boxing scene, he meets Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), leader of The Forty Elephants –– the notorious all-female London gang –– as they battle for survival on the streets.

As Hezekiah sharpens his new skills, he comes up against Sugar Goodson, played by Stephen Graham, a seasoned and dangerous boxer and the two are soon locked into an intense rivalry that spills out way beyond the ring.

Here’s what Knight says about the show:

“The love and care that went into this thrilling production is evident on screen from the first moment. What makes the story we tell all the more compelling is that it is based on the lives of real people who lived extraordinary lives in extraordinary times.”

Who else is in ‘A Thousand Blows’?

‘A Thousand Blows’. Photo: Disney+.

The cast for the show also includes Alec Munroe, Jason Tobin as Mr. Lao and James Nelson-Joyce as Edward “Treacle” Goodson.

The Forty Elephants includes Hannah Walters as Eliza Moody, Darci Shaw as Alice Diamond, Nadia Albina as Verity Ross, Morgan Hilaire as Esme Long, Jemma Carlton as Belle Downer and Caoilfhionn Dunne as Anne Glover.

And then we have Susan Lynch as Jane Carr, Daniel Mays as William ‘Punch’ Lewis, Adam Nagaitis as the Earl of Lonsdale, Gary Lewis as Jack Mac, Tom Davis as Charlie Mitchell and Robert Glenister as Indigo Jeremy.

A murderer’s row of British and other talent, then (and you can bet at least one of their characters will be an actual murderer).

On the directing side of the camera, meanwhile, we have Tinge Krishnan, Nick Murphy, Ashley Walters and Coky Giedroyc.

When will ‘A Thousand Blows’ be on screen?

Disney clear has confidence in this one, as two seasons –– though viewers in Britain will naturally refer to them as series –– have already been in the ring for the new boxing drama.

The first batch of six will land on Hulu domestically and Disney+ next year, with the second season/series hitting at a later date.

Steven Knight attends the ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ New York special screening at Paris Theater on October 30, 2023 in New York City. Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Netflix.