Hulu’s new boxing series A Thousand Blows blew in to town last week and knocked us out like a bunch of amateur bystanders, then it left us hanging off a huge narrative cliff with a "to be continued" at the end of episode 6, thirsting for more.
While season 2 of A Thousand Blows has been confirmed, there’s no word yet on when it will arrive. In the meantime, while you await its glorious return, here are 5 gritty period crime dramas like A Thousand Blows to keep you company (and on the edge of your seat).
1. Peaky Blinders (2014)
Created and written by Steven Knight, who also wrote A Thousand Blows, Peaky Blinders is a fictionalized version of a real-life British crime gang that existed and operated in post-World War I Birmingham, England. The series follows Birmingham crime boss Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy, of Oppenheimer) as he works to elevate his family from bickering, nomadic gypsies to the height of British power, only to burn it all down in the end and return to his roots.
Peaky Blinders captivated audiences with its gritty exploration of the human condition and themes like loyalty, revenge, and family dynamics, as well as with its pulpy depiction of post-WWI England. The icing on the Blinders cake is the well-written narrative, but the sprinkles and toppings are the direct result of Cillian Murphy’s visceral performance. Trust me, it’s one you’ll want to experience instead of read about; even in his criminality, he’s a hero, as are the Peaky Blinders and their women.
Now’s the perfect time to brush up on the six-season series (or get acquainted with it if you’re unfamiliar), because Peaky Blinders will be returning in 2025 with a highly anticipated encore to wrap up its gangster sage with a movie titled The Peaky Blinders Movie.
2. Gangs of London (2020)
Next to Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London is perhaps the bloodiest, most brutal, and most intense gritty crime drama series to date, next to Sons of Anarchy. While it doesn't take place in 19th-century London, it does go down in 21st-century London, so that counts. Gangs of London introduces us to the competing power dynamics between gangs and criminal organizations in present-day London. When the biggest crime boss, Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney, of Hell on Wheels) is shot in the face and killed, his son is left to pick up the pieces and rebuild their criminal empire.
His son Sean (Joe Cole, of Peaky Blinders) is impulsive and hellbent on avenging his father, but before he has a chance, he’s shot in the face by a most trust adversary and presumed dead… only he survives, and when he makes his return in the upcoming season, you can bet it’ll be with vengeance on an unfathomable level. With the Wallace family temporarily down and out, the Albanian, Kurdish, and Pakistani mafias, along with other crime families, now fight for the throne, and believe you me when I tell you season 2 is full of the kind of carnage you'd expect from, say, a mother and father protecting their families. Look, I love John Wick and all, but these fight scenes in Gangs of London are off the chain.
Oh, there’s also the fact that a cop has infiltrated the Wallace family and is so deep undercover in London’s criminal underbelly, that everyone loves and trusts him, so they never see him coming. But there's a growing problem within him: He's coming to care about the people he works for on some level, which incites a major theme and exploration of one's morality.
As a critically acclaimed series, rife with fast-paced, brutally intense drama full of crime, blood, and violence, Gangs of London is a must-see, but it's certainly not for the faint of heart. Season 1 is interesting and engaging, introducing us to all the international crime families and how their rule and relations are affected by Sean Wallace's claim to power, but season 2 is jaw-dropping and eye-popping. As pent-up rage explodes, the season showcases the kind of drama and non-stop action that keeps you glued to the screen, daring yourself not to blink for fear you’ll miss some of the bad-ass fight choreography and special effects woven into this masterpiece that will have you on the edge of your seat. Also, mad props to Game of Thrones matriarch Michelle Fairley for her performance as Wallace family matriarch Marian. It's not just the men who are brutal in this series. These women are no joke. No doubt they'd be tight with Gemma Teller from Sons of Anarchy, which is also an outstanding gritty drama series, but we're our focus is on similarities to A Thousand Blows. So, get to bingeing, my friends!
3. Penny Dreadful (2014)
Penny Dreadful is a literary masterpiece adapted for the small screen. Based on 19th-century British literature, including Victorian Gothic fiction and penny dreadfuls, this gritty period psychological thriller features an abundance of literary references to classic novels from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as contemporary paranormal movies and creature features. For the unfamiliar, penny dreadfuls were sensational, inexpensive novels that were all the rage in the Victorian era. They were often about crime, adventure, or romance and were written for the working classes to scare, shock, disturb, and even disgust the reader.
Penny Dreadful did just that with its adaptation of some of the genre’s most iconic stories and characters, such as Frankenstein (which is a brilliantly played-out origin story) and Dorian Gray, to create a universe where all horrific "monsters" like these and more exist all at once, in one place.
The series follows the tragic story of Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton, of 1923), an explorer who has lost his daughter to London’s creatures. Willing to do whatever is necessary to get her back and right his past wrongs, Murray teams up with Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), a seductive clairvoyant who recruits charming American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) to help battle vampires and slay monsters. Sprinkle in a coven of witches, a blood-sucking Dracula, and powerful Victorian London demons and, well, you’ve got a spooky binge-worthy watch on your hands that takes you on a gritty ride through some of literature’s creepiest, most iconic characters.
4. Taboo (2017)
Unfortunately, this Tom Hardy-led series only lasted for one season, and while a second one has been rumored for quite some time now, it still hasn’t happened, presumably because Hardy’s career took off like a shooting star. However, that doesn’t mean season 1 isn’t worth your time, because its grit, drama, violence, and intensity are amusing, entertaining, and some are even truly appalling.
The year is 1814 and adventurer James Keziah Delaney (Hardy)—long believed to be dead—returns home to London from Africa to inherit his late father’s shipping empire. But all is not as it seems, as Delaney encounters numerous enemies intent on upending his life back in the UK. Focused on building a shipping empire to rival the imperious East India Trading Company, Delaney also seeks vengeance for his father’s death, which means treading right into the waters of conspiracy, betrayal, and bloodshed. As if that’s not enough, he must also navigate increasingly complex territories in order to avoid his own death sentence.
Taboo is an eight-episode series created by… wait for it… the inimitable Steven Knight, along with Tom Hardy and his father Chips Hardy, based on a story written by the father-son duo. The superbly gritty series explores and indulges in the dark side of 19th-century London with all its political and corporate corruption surrounding the East India Company, criminal gangs, and the misery of the working class. It also features Hardy in one of his best roles to date: rough, tough, apathetic, quiet and mysterious, and with no time or tolerance for nonsense. The second you finish that 8th episode, you’ll be yearning for more. There’s still hope that Hardy will pick the project back up
5. Ripper Street (2012)
Yep, you guessed it: Ripper Street has to do with the infamous Jack the Ripper, the serial killer who butchered a number of women in and around the Whitechapel District of London in 1888. A ridiculously underrated Victorian crime drama, Ripper Street is based in the East End of London and picks up six months after the Ripper murders.
This gritty Victorian-era crime drama is a graphic police procedural rife with thrilling, lurid storylines that change week to week. Ripper Street follows Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Mcfadyen, of Succession) and his team as they investigate gruesome murders amidst the poverty and social unrest of the time, under the lingering shadow of Jack the Ripper. Ripper Street offers an enticing blend of gripping mysteries, complex characters, a perfect atmospheric setting, historically accurate details--specifically in its detailed depictions of the slums, poverty, and social issues of the late 1800s in London--and an exploration of the moral dilemmas police faced in such a harsh environment.
Ripper Street combines extreme violence and brutality with a dark, unsettling mood to create the perfect period thriller ambiance for these stories and their themes to unfold. Furthermore, adding to the layered narrative are the developing lives and motivations of varying supporting characters, like criminals and prostitutes. Also, Matthew Macfadyen is outstanding as D.I. Edmund Reid, and the plot, atmosphere, and changing narratives are enough to make you watch this series with the lights on.
*On a side note, if you're looking for gritty crime drama series that aren't set in specific time periods, check out Sons of Anarchy on Hulu, Ozark on Netflix, Justified on Hulu, Breaking Bad on Netflix, Better Call Saul on Netflix, The Outsiders on Hulu, Fargo on Hulu, and The Wire on Max, to name a few.