Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for A Thousand Blows season 1.Steven Knight’sA Thousand Blowscould connect to his earlier TV show,Peaky Blinders, and if it does, it could create a massive crime drama franchise.Reviews forA Thousand Blowswere tremendous upon its release, partially because of its similarities to one of thebest crime drama shows ever,Peaky Blinders. Several different viewers noted thesimilarities betweenA Thousand BlowsandPeaky 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 reasonsA Thousand BlowsandPeaky Blindersbeing connected would be such a big deal is because of how popular the latter has already become. There are severalupcomingPeaky Blindersspinoffsin the works, including aPeaky Blindersmovie.Peaky Blinderswill soon become a veritable franchise in itself, but ifA Thousand Blowsalso 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 belovedPeaky Blinderscharacter.
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 betweenA Thousand BlowsandPeaky Blindersthat has been confirmed so far. However,sincePeaky BlindersandA Thousand Blowsare already eerily similar, it would be extremely easy to connect the shows together at a later date.A Thousand Blowsbasically already fits into the world ofPeaky 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. WhilePeaky Blindershas 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
Another reasonA Thousand Blowscould easily connect toPeaky Blindersis because of the historical truth it’s based on.A Thousand Blows' Forty Elephants gangwas 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 connectA Thousand BlowstoPeaky 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 aPeaky Blindersconnection, however.Because they were around so long and switched members and leaders so frequently,A Thousand Blowscould 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 ofA Thousand Blowsor 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 forA Thousand Blowsto potentially connect toPeaky Blindersis through Polly Gray (Helen McCrory). APeaky Blindersspinoff centering around Pollyhas long been confirmed at Netflix, and it’s set to depict the younger years of the strong-willed and lovable woman.Peaky Blindersalso revealed that Polly was involved in a life of crime as a young woman, whichA Thousand Blowscould 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 somecharacters fromA Thousand Blows.
Another barrier toPeaky BlindersandA Thousand Blowstaking place in the same universe is Stephen Graham. Since Graham played Hayden Stagg inPeaky Blindersseason 6 and Henry “Sugar” Goodson inA 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 inA Thousand Blowsor a member of the Forty Elephants showing up in thePeaky Blindersspinoff. Currently,Netflix owns the rights toPeaky Blinders, while Disney+ and Hulu ownA 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 tieA Thousand BlowsintoPeaky Blindersin the future.
A Thousand Blows
Cast
In 1880s London, two friends from Jamaica, Hezekiah and Alec, find themselves entangled in the gritty underworld of illegal boxing. As Hezekiah rises in the ranks, he crosses paths with Mary Carr, leader of the Forty Elephants, and faces off against veteran boxer Sugar Goodson in a battle that extends beyond the ring.
Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is a historical crime drama created and written by Steven Knight and starring Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, and Helen McCrory. The television show is based on the gang, Peaky Blinders, a group that banded together after the end of World War I.
