HUGE period drama starring Stephen Graham is renewed for a second series before the first season has even aired on our screens.
The Disney+ show, which starts this month, comes from Steven Knight, the writer behind acclaimed BBC thriller Peaky Blinders as well as current BBC hit SAS Rogue Heroes.
The epic new series – A Thousand Blows – is set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London.
Now, ahead of the show’s debut this week, it’s been revealed that it’s been recommissioned for a second series.
In the 1800s Londoners had to contend with two very different criminal gangs — a group of East End boxers and another of West End shoplifters.
The Forty Elephants were a band of women who robbed, burgled and swindled their way around the capital’s poshest parts including top end shops like Selfridges.
Meanwhile at the other end of the city were the gangs who ran boxing fights which was the only alpha male entertainment of the day.
Coming between the factions were Jamaicans Hezekiah Moscow and his pal Alec Munroe, and both got sucked into the dangerous but lucrative underworld of bare-knuckle fighting.
Now, these incredible stories have been brought together in new drama A Thousand Blows, which features Line of Duty’s Stephen Graham and The Crown actress Erin Doherty.
The thrilling series follows Hezekiah (Malachi Kirby) and Alec – played by Francis Lovehall – two best friends from Jamaica who find themselves thrust into the violent melting pot of post-industrial revolution London’s East End.
Drawn into the criminal underbelly of the thriving boxing scene, Hezekiah 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 (Stephen), a seasoned and dangerous boxer and the two are soon locked into an intense rivalry that spills out way beyond the ring.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Stephen Graham lashes out in new pictures of gripping drama A Thousand Blows from Peaky Blinders” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6366867743112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]This month we exclusively revealed that despite rave reviews and top ratings, the BBC cancelled Stephen’s other show Boiling Point.
The four-part series followed the 2021 film of the same name and picked up eight months after the movie’s cliffhanger ending that saw irate chef Andy Jones, played by Stephen, collapse with a heart attack.
A source told The Sun: “It’s not often a drama gets such love from viewers and critics but Boiling Point was such a rarity the team has been left disappointed that there’s no news on a second series.
“The fact is there’s still an appetite for more, it’s just making that happen.
“Boiling Point is on the shelf, so to speak, but if the right story or idea comes along then there’s every chance it could be back on screens one day.”
The series aired in October 2023 and landed a perfect score on ratings site Rotten Tomatoes.
It followed Andy, as he tried to find his place in the world without running a restaurant, and Carly, played by Vinette Robinson, who took over the reins at Jones & Sons.
A Thousand Blows airs Friday 21 February on Disney+.