Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is teaming up with Stephen Graham once again for a new show. The series, under the working title A Thousand Blows, will consist of 12 episodes, and will stream on Disney Plus in the UK and Hulu in the US.
The show, set in the 1880s, follows two best friends from Jamaica named Hezekiah and Alec, who end up part of the illegal boxing scene in the East End of London. There, Hezekiah meets Mary Carr, who heads up the all-female gang The Forty Elephants, and encounters Graham's Sugar Goodson, who is an experienced and dangerous boxer. A serious rivalry forms between Hezekiah and Sugar.
"I'm really thrilled to be working on this project with Stephen as well as the very talented production team and group of writers," Knight said in a statement. "I always love to delve into untold history, and this is a story that really deserves to be told. We are recreating an amazing world and telling a remarkable true story."
Knight created the show and is executive producing along with Graham, and Knight is also the lead writer. Industry and WeCrashed helmer Tinge Krishnan is lead director and also executive produces. Historian Professor David Olusoga also executive produces, so expect authenticity. The writing team is formed of Insook Chappell, Yasmin Joseph, Harlan Davies, and Ameir Brown.
"To be able to work with Steve again and the talented team of writers we have for this project is truly wonderful, and to tell the story of these incredible characters during this period of time in London is a joy," said Graham. "Aside from having the privilege of bringing the role of Sugar Goodson to life, I am also extremely proud that Matriarch is co-producing this show whilst helping to create opportunities for people in front of and behind the camera, instilling the ethos of providing training within production that otherwise would be difficult for some to pursue as a career. 'Don't count the days... Make the days count.' - Muhammad Ali."
