Are Peaky Blinders & A Thousand Blows Set In The Same Universe? Steven Knight's New Crime Show Sets Up Huge Franchise Potential

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for A Thousand Blows season 1.Steven Knight's A Thousand Blows could connect to his earlier TV show, Peaky Blinders, and if it does, it could create a massive crime drama franchise. Reviews for A Thousand Blows were tremendous upon its release, partially because of its similarities to one of the best crime drama shows ever, Peaky Blinders. Several different viewers noted the similarities between A Thousand Blows and Peaky Blinders, and since they were both created by Steven Knight, it's only natural to wonder if they take place in a shared universe. Unfortunately, the answer isn't entirely straightforward.

One of the reasons A Thousand Blows and Peaky Blinders being connected would be such a big deal is because of how popular the latter has already become. There are several upcoming Peaky Blinders spinoffs in the works, including a Peaky Blinders movie. Peaky Blinders will soon become a veritable franchise in itself, but if A Thousand Blows also connects to the story of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his family, it could become an even bigger series. Luckily, there's already a very clear way that could happen, and it may even include a beloved Peaky Blinders character.

Peaky Blinders & A Thousand Blows Could Realistically Exist In The Same Universe

Both A Thousand Blows & Peaky Blinders Follow English Gangs & Boxers At The Start Of The 20th Century

The simple truth is, there's no official connection between A Thousand Blows and Peaky Blinders that has been confirmed so far. However, since Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows are already eerily similar, it would be extremely easy to connect the shows together at a later date. A Thousand Blows basically already fits into the world of Peaky Blinders: it's a gritty crime drama inspired by a true story of English gangsters at the cusp of the 20th century, and both shows were created by the same person. While Peaky Blinders has already reached the 1930s, it wouldn't be hard to connect the two.

A Thousand Blows' Forty Elephants Could Set Up Several Crime Show Spinoffs

The Forty Elephants Were Active For Over 80 Years & Spread Throughout England

Another reason A Thousand Blows could easily connect to Peaky Blinders is because of the historical truth it's based on. A Thousand Blows' Forty Elephants gang was a real-life all-woman gang in London, and they were around for decades. The earliest confirmed mention of the Forty Elephants was in the 1870s, but female criminals self-identified as part of the gang all the way to the 1950s. With more than 80 years of history to draw inspiration from, Steven Knight could easily find a way to connect A Thousand Blows to Peaky Blinders. The Forty Elephants even spread outside of London at some point, and could easily have made their way to Birmingham.

The longevity of the Forty Elephants doesn't just open the door to a Peaky Blinders connection, however. Because they were around so long and switched members and leaders so frequently, A Thousand Blows could either last several seasons or spawn entirely new spinoff shows about different generations of the Forty Elephants. After Mary Carr (Erin Doherty) steps down as queen of the Forty Elephants, either a new season of A Thousand Blows or a new spinoff show could follow Alice Diamond (Darci Shaw), the next queen of the Elephants, or her successor.

A Thousand Blows Could Eventually Tie Into Peaky Blinders' Rumored Polly Gray Prequel

A Thousand Blows May Reveal That Polly Gray Was Once An Elephant

Possibly the most exciting way for A Thousand Blows to potentially connect to Peaky Blinders is through Polly Gray (Helen McCrory). A Peaky Blinders spinoff centering around Polly has long been confirmed at Netflix, and it's set to depict the younger years of the strong-willed and lovable woman. Peaky Blinders also revealed that Polly was involved in a life of crime as a young woman, which A Thousand Blows could use to depict her as a member of the Forty Elephants. Even if she doesn't go around shoplifting with Alice Diamond, however, Polly's prequel show could still encounter some characters from A Thousand Blows.

Another barrier to Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows taking place in the same universe is Stephen Graham. Since Graham played Hayden Stagg in Peaky Blinders season 6 and Henry "Sugar" Goodson in A Thousand Blows, the shows would have to find a way to explain why the characters look identical to one another.

There are, however, a few obstacles in the way of a young Polly Gray cropping up in A Thousand Blows or a member of the Forty Elephants showing up in the Peaky Blinders spinoff. Currently, Netflix owns the rights to Peaky Blinders, while Disney+ and Hulu own A Thousand Blows. Unless the competing streaming services find a way to collaborate, they likely won't allow the other to use their intellectual property. If they can overcome that financial barrier, however, it would be very easy to tie A Thousand Blows into Peaky Blinders in the future.