A Thousand Blows

Set in the East End of London in the 1880s, the series follows the Forty Elephants, an all-female crime syndicate led by Mary Carr, who specialize in shoplifting and confidence tricks, and who clash with Henry "Sugar" Goodson, the self-declared emperor of the East End's illegal bare-knuckle boxing world.^[1] Additionally, Hezekiah Moscow, a newly immigrated man from Jamaica with ambitions to become a lion tamer, and his best friend Alec Munroe, fight for survival as they come into contact with both groups.^[2][3]

The concept for the series was the brainchild of actress Hannah Walters, who pitched her idea to Steven Knight In August 2022, it was revealed that a twelve episode boxing drama was in development, with Knight set as showrunner with Tinge Krishnan as lead director and an executive producer alongside Knight.^[4]

Malachi Kirby stars in the lead role,^[3] alongside Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty, Francis Lovehall, Jason Tobin, James Nelson-Joyce, Nadia Albina, Morgan Hilaire, Jemma Carlton, Caoilfhionn Dunne, and Ella Lily Hyland.^[5][6][7] There are also roles for Darci Shaw, Ziggy Heath, Susan Lynch and Robert Glenister.^[8]

Principal photography began in March 2023, with filming taking place in London.^[6] In February 2025, ahead of the series premiere, it was confirmed that a second season had been filmed.^[3][9]

A Thousand Blows was first shown at BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2024. It premiered on 21 February 2025 on Disney+ internationally and on Hulu in the United States.^[1][2]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 40 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Punching up an intriguing era of British history with creator Steven Knight's flare for genre grit, A Thousand Blows is riveting entertainment that leaves a bruise."^[10] Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded the first series five stars out of five, praising the depth of storytelling and themes.^[11]