While Waiting For Peaky Blinders’ Movie, Watch This New 92% RT Period Crime Show From The Same Creator

With plenty of time remaining before Peaky Blinders’ upcoming movie, The Immortal Man, finally arrives on Netflix, franchise creator Steven Knight has a critically acclaimed new crime drama that’s fantastic to watch while waiting. Focusing on the exploits of the titular gang in early 20th-century Birmingham, Peaky Blinders became a massive hit with widely praised performances from stars like Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, and Tom Hardy. While Peaky Blinders season 6 ended the series in 2022, Steven Knight’s franchise is continuing with The Immortal Man’s sequel movie and various spinoff shows in development.

Though the highly anticipated movie began filming in September 2024, The Immortal Man’s release date has still yet to be announced by Netflix. As such, it’s unclear whether the Peaky Blinders movie will hit Netflix in 2025 or 2026. While there are no spinoffs to the main series to watch in the meantime, show creator Steven Knight does have a new show on Hulu with a similar concept that will fill that Peaky Blinders gap before the film’s arrival. Already boasting critical acclaim, A Thousand Blows season 1 offers much of the same period crime drama appeal as Peaky Blinders.

A Thousand Blows Is Another Critically Acclaimed Crime Drama From Peaky Blinders' Creator

A Thousand Blows Follows A 19th-Century Gang In London

Steven Knight has created a few intriguing shows since Peaky Blinders’ ending, including Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See and Hulu’s The Veil, but A Thousand Blows is the closest he’s come to emulating another Peaky Blinders-esque period crime drama. Inspired by the true story of The Forty Elephants gang in 1880s London, A Thousand Blows season 1 debuted on Hulu and Disney+ on February 21 with an impressive 92% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics. This score currently surpasses the acclaim for Peaky Blinders season 1, which holds an 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Show	Rotten Tomatoes Score
Peaky Blinders season 1	92%
A Thousand Blows season 1	88%

While also focusing on the real-life crime syndicate, A Thousand Blows doubles as a sports drama by integrating the world of illegal bare-knuckle boxing. Another notable difference between Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows’ English crime stories is that Knight’s new TV show is focused on an all-female gang, whereas the titular Peaky Blinders gang was primarily run by men, with the exception of characters like Polly Gray and Ada Shelby. Furthermore, while Peaky Blinders frequently integrated real-life historical figures and events into its fictional story, A Thousand Blows’ main characters and narrative primarily draw from real people and history.

A Thousand Blows season 2 was renewed by Hulu/Disney+ prior to the series premiere.

Among the aspects receiving the highest praise for A Thousand Blows season 1 are the performances by Stephen Graham as boxer Henry “Sugar” Goodson and Erin Doherty as gangster Mary Carr. A Thousand Blows has been described as a character-driven drama, with these two actors being the stars of the show’s boxing and female crime syndicate stories. Steven Knight’s compelling characters and masterful historical setting in A Thousand Blows have generally drawn positive comparisons to Peaky Blinders, making it a worthy follow-up to the hit Cillian Murphy-starring franchise.

Are Peaky Blinders & A Thousand Blows Connected?

They Don't Seem To Be Set In The Same Universe

Though both are centered on crime gangs in late-19th century and early-20th century England, it doesn’t appear that Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows are meant to be set in the same universe. Other than being created by Steven Knight and featuring Stephen Graham (who played Hayden Stagg in Peaky Blinders' cast), there won’t be any narrative connections found between Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows on-screen – at least in season 1.

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Additionally, A Thousand Blows season 1 takes place in the 1880s, over 30 years before Peaky Blinders season 1’s timeline begins in 1919. Given that gap between the two shows, it shouldn’t be expected that familiar members of Peaky Blinders' Shelby family would ever show up or be referenced in A Thousand Blows – even if they were potentially revealed to be in the same universe. Furthermore, A Thousand Blows’ narrative is set in London, while Peaky Blinders’ early seasons are focused on the gang’s exploits in Birmingham.

A Thousand Blows Could Give Steven Knight Another Crime Franchise Like Peaky Blinders

A Thousand Blows Has The Potential For Spinoffs

Erin Doherty as Mary Carr at the boxing ring in A Thousand Blows season 1

It seems unlikely that A Thousand Blows will be revealed as being set within Peaky Blinders’ fictional version of history, which gives Steven Knight the opportunity to helm a brand-new period crime drama franchise. The real Forty Elephants gang was seemingly active until about the 1950s, giving Knight another several decades’ worth of historical eras, characters, and events to pursue in that world. Even if it’s not focused on Mary Carr or “Sugar” Goodson, A Thousand Blows could lead to a Peaky Blinders-esque franchise full of spinoffs about on connected historical figures and events.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

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