TONYA MOSLEY, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. Steven Knight, creator of the long-running, much-acclaimed British TV series "Peaky Blinders," has a new period drama that's come to the United States. It's called "A Thousand Blows," and it's about tough yet vulnerable characters trying to survive and thrive in Victorian-era East End London. Our TV critic David Bianculli has this review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: In the last couple of years, British writer-producer Steven Knight has been responsible for some really thoughtful, very entertaining TV miniseries. The modern spy drama "The Veil," starring Elizabeth Moss; the World War II drama "All The Light We Cannot See," starring Mark Ruffalo; and, set in the early 19th century, a vibrant adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel "Great Expectations," with the marvelous Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham. But before that, from 2013 to 2022, Steven Knight created - and wrote and directed many episodes of - one of the best TV series so far in this 21st century - "Peaky Blinders," showcasing the talent of Cillian Murphy long before he played the title role in the hit movie "Oppenheimer." "Peaky Blinders" was a brilliant character study of someone striving to outwit, outplay and outlast all competing criminal elements, while simultaneously navigating potential roads to prominence and respectability.
That's what Steven Knight's new series, "A Thousand Blows," is about, as well. But this new Hulu series, set on the tough east side of London in the Victorian era, focuses intently not just on one scrappy character, but on three. And Knight, as creator and lead writer of "A Thousand Blows," has done what David Milch did on his HBO series, "Deadwood." Knight, like Milch, bases his central characters on actual figures from history, then builds a totally believable, depressingly seedy environment and populates that with fictional characters to interact with the real ones. The actual historical record is used more as inspiration than blueprint, but the seeds are there.
Basically, "A Thousand Blows" is set against the boxing world, which, at that time - in London in the 1880s - was a tale of two cities. There's the East End of London, where vicious bare-knuckle fights were staged in back rooms of neighborhood pubs. And there's the West End, where boxing matches were more gentlemanly affairs in men's clubs, with boxing gloves and strongly enforced rules of engagement. Stephen Graham, who played Hayden Stagg in the final season of "Peaky Blinders," portrays Sugar Goodson, an East End pub owner and furious fighter. Erin Doherty, who played Princess Anne in the middle seasons of "The Crown," portrays Mary Carr, the leader of the Forty Elephants. That's a gang of opportunistic pickpockets, shoplifters and thieves - all women.
And interacting with both of those fact-based colorful characters is a third - Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow, played with Cillian Murphy-type intensity by Malachi Kirby, who starred as Kunta Kinte in the recent remake of "Roots." Eventually, Hezekiah steps into the boxing ring on both sides of London. But when he arrives in England, fresh off the boat at the London Docks and accompanied by his childhood friend Alex, he's pursuing a different dream entirely. One of the first people he meets on the bustling streets of London is Mary Carr, the gang leader thief who, while talking to Hezekiah about his future, also is picking his pocket.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A THOUSAND BLOWS")
MALACHI KIRBY: (As Hezekiah Moscow) All right. Swell. Tomorrow, I'm going to the East London Zoological Gardens. Have you ever been there?
ERIN DOHERTY: (As Mary Carr) Actually, yes. We go there often, especially when we know there'll be a crowd.
KIRBY: (As Hezekiah Moscow) Have you seen the lions there?
DOHERTY: (As Mary Carr) What do you want to see a lion for?
KIRBY: (As Hezekiah Moscow) I don't want to see a lion. I want to tame one.
DOHERTY: (As Mary Carr) You're a lion tamer.
KIRBY: (As Hezekiah Moscow) Not yet. But I will be.
DOHERTY: (As Mary Carr) You're not serious.
KIRBY: (As Hezekiah Moscow) I'm not from London. So when I say something, that is what I mean.
BIANCULLI: When their conversation is over and Hezekiah politely asks for his stolen two shillings to be returned, the two begin a friendship that takes them across London, from grimy streets to royal mansions. "A Thousand Blows" arrives on Hulu with all six episodes dropped at once. But it finishes with a to-be-continued ending and even includes some teaser scenes from future episodes. More of this story clearly is coming, but what's here is gripping on its own and full of surprises. The boxing sequences, like the royal dinners, are impressive in their detail and in their very different types of intensity. And while "A Thousand Blows" is not, so far, quite up to the level of "Peaky Blinders," it does achieve one thing that TV series did so brilliantly - it introduces us to characters and performances that linger long after the show is over.
MOSLEY: David Bianculli is a professor of television studies at Rowan University. He reviewed "A Thousand Blows," now streaming on Hulu. Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, we remember South African playwright Athol Fugard, whose plays were about the emotional and psychological consequences of apartheid. And we remember songwriter and singer Jerry Butler, who sang with Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions before going solo. I hope you can join us.
(SOUNDBITE OF FLORATONE'S "SWAMPED")
MOSLEY: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Briger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. With Terry Gross, I'm Tonya Mosley.
(SOUNDBITE OF FLORATONE'S "SWAMPED") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
