The 'A Thousand Blows' Trailer Takes Us Underground for the Fight
Daniel Mays as William ‘Punch’ Lewis in 'A Thousand Blows' Season 1
Hulu
It is not actually the case that Steven Knight has at least one dark'n'gritty historical drama streaming somewhere in the TV landscape at any given time; it just feels like it. The TV writer/producer rose to prominence with his Peaky Blinders series in 2013, which hit big on Netflix in America. But since 2019, Knight's been somewhat inescapable, with series streaming seemingly everywhere from Apple TV+'s unfortunate See, FX's A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, and The Veil, the unfortunately-relegated-to-MGM+ Rogue Heroes, and upcoming Netflix series House of Guinness. Meanwhile, over on Hulu, A Thousand Blows is prepped to debut in mid-February 2025.
On the one hand, it's not certain that Knight's new Victorian boxing series will take off, especially in the U.S., where all episodes will drop at once as a binge on Hulu (or on Disney+ under the Hulu tile), leaving it little runway to build an audience week on week. However, much like Rogue Heroes, a smash across the pond, A Thousand Blows' success will almost certainly be measured by British viewership rather than American.
On the other hand, A Thousand Blows represents the kind of historical period drama viewers have been clamoring for years: a forgotten slice of history that touches on the societal issues of the era, with an angle that focuses on diverse characters and how Victorian society, in particular, was instrumental in forcing those who were not wealthy, white upperclass men into life choices that kept them oppressed.
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.
A Thousand Blows stars Malachi Kirby (Small Axe), Erin Doherty (The Crown), Francis Lovehall (Masters of the Air), Darci Shaw (The Irregulars), Stephen Graham (Boiling Point), Hannah Walters (Time), Daniel Mays (Magpie Murders), Nadia Albina (Doctor Who), Adam Nagaitis (The Agency), Jemma Carlton (Lockerbie: A Search For Truth), James Nelson-Joyce (The Gold), Caoilfhionn Dunne (Industry), Robert Glenister (Sherwood), Susan Lynch (Happy Valley), Tom Davis (Paddington 2), Gary Lewis (Vigil), Jason Tobin (Warrior) and newcomer Morgan Hilaire.
Knight was the lead writer 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, Barrington Robinson, and Jo Johnson produce. Knight executive produces alongside Graham and Walters for Matriarch Productions, Damian Keogh & Kate Lewis for The Story Collective, Tom Miller & Sam Myer for Water & Power Productions, Lee Mason for Disney+, and historian David Olusoga.
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.
