'A Thousand Blows' New Images Introduce The Forty Elephants

When it was initially announced that Steven Knight's newest series, A Thousand Blows (at Disney+ and Hulu, though not via FX), was about Victorian-era boxing, it seemed an odd turn for the hitmaker. Sports dramas are their own particular niche fandom that rarely overlaps with historical fiction; while there have been a few "period sports dramas" like Netflix's The English Game, most sports stories set in the era pre World War II are usually relegated to side plots in shows like Bridgerton or Downton Abbey. However, the "boxing" aspect of A Thousand Blows seems merely an entry portal to a broader story set within a fictionalized deep dive into a real-life London organized gang that operated from the 1800s to the 1950s.

Known as The Forty Elephants, London's first all-women organized crime ring first gained notoriety in the mid-1800s; the gang primarily were shoplifters and rarely used violence. Historians don't have a fixed date for the gang's founding, but some argue reports of "waves of shoplifting" that date back to the late 1700s should be treated as possible early activity. 

Until now, the only member of the Elephants the series has featured is their leader, Mary Carr, played by The Crown's Erin Doherty. But with this new wave of images, Hulu has revealed additional cast for the series, including all the women who co-star with Doherty and the gang members they portray.

Of The Forty Elephants' best-known real-life gang members, Alice Diamond is probably the one most people have heard of, though they may know her as "Diamond Annie" (due to multiple rings that made her punches deadly). Annie took control of the gang in the waning days of the Great War and, under her leadership, rose to fame for their exploits and ability to outwit law enforcement.

Darci Shaw (The Irregulars) will play Diamond, who, at this point, is still a young gang member under Carr's rule. The rest of the gang features Hannah Walters (Time) as Eliza Moody, Nadia Albina (Doctor Who) as Verity Ross, Jemma Carlton (Lockerbie: A Search For Truth) as Belle Downer, Caoilfhionn Dunne (Industry) as Anne Glover, and newcomer Morgan Hilaire as Esme Long.

The series also revealed several high-profile co-stars who had not previously been announced as part of the cast. The biggest name in the group for PBS viewers will be Daniel Mays, who starred in Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders; he plays the real-life boxer Punch Lewis, who opened a boxing salon in London in 1883 when the practice was still illegal. Lewis died only two years later, unsurprisingly from one too many a blow to the head.

The series also revealed that James Nelson-Joyce is in the cast. BritBox fans will know Nelson-Joyce from his role in The Responder; he also appeared in Season 1 of The Gold, which will air and stream on PBS in 2025. He plays Edward 'Treacle' Goodson, the younger brother of Henry 'Sugar' Goodson, played by Stephen Graham.

Here's the series official synopsis:

Inspired by the true life stories of a group of characters battling for survival in the brutal East End of London in the 1880s. Hezekiah Moscow and Alec Munroe, best friends on the run from Jamaica, are thrust into the criminal underbelly of London’s thriving bare-knuckle boxing scene. As Hezekiah finds fortune and fame through the art of pugilism, he attracts the attention of the infamous Queen of the Forty Elephants, Mary Carr, who exploits his talents to further her criminal enterprise. Meanwhile, the menacing and self-declared emperor of the East End boxing world, Sugar Goodson, is determined to destroy Hezekiah, whose ambitions to fight in the West End threaten everything he has built. What ensues is a battle of the old world against the new.

While Doherty, Shaw, Mays, Graham, and Nelson-Joyce play real-life boxers and gangsters, the actual plot of A Thousand Blows stars Malachi Kirby (Small Axe) as Hezekiah Moscow and Francis Lovehall (Masters of the Air) as Alec Munroe. The rest of the supporting cast includes Susan Lynch (Happy Valley), Adam Nagaitis (The Agency), Gary Lewis (Vigil), Tom Davis (Paddington 2), Robert Glenister (Sherwood), and Jason Tobin (Warrior).

Knight served as lead writer on A Thousand Blows alongside Ameir Brown, Insook Chappell, Harlan Davies, and Yasmin Joseph. Directors Tinge Krishnan (Industry), Nick Murphy (A Spy Among Friends), Coky Giedroyc (Harlots), Katrin Gebbe (The Empress), Dionne Edwards (Everything Now), and Ashley Walters (Top Boy in his behind-the-camera debut) each directed an installment. Tom Miller is the series producer, and Barrington Robinson and Jo Johnson are the producers. 

Knight is also an executive producer alongside historian David Olusoga, Graham and Hannah Waters for Matriarch Productions, Damian Keogh & Kate Lewis for The Story Collective, Tom Miller & Sam Myer for Water & Power Productions, and Lee Mason for Disney+. 

A Thousand Blows will premiere with all episodes on Friday, February 21, 2025, on Hulu (and under the Hulu Tile on Disney+) in the U.S.