BTS: Bringing A Thousand Blows to the screen

Steven Knight’s 6×60 series, A Thousand Blows, set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London, comes to Disney+ tomorrow. The series, starring Stephen Graham, Malachi Kirby and Erin Doherty is produced by The Story Collective in a co-production with Matriarch Productions and Water & Power Productions.

Here, Tom Miller, Series Producer and Executive Producer of the drama and Managing Director of Water & Power Productions, explains the genesis of the historical drama

The production process for A Thousand Blows frequently surpassed our expectations, so much so that it could have been dubbed “A Thousand Mind Blows”. Typically, creating a project involves navigating endless hurdles and encountering closed doors, but this experience was a refreshing exception. Instead, we found ourselves consistently amazed by the creativity, collaboration, and opportunities that unfolded, making it an unforgettable adventure from start to finish.

As Series Producer and Executive Producer, my experience on A Thousand Blows was unlike any show I had worked on before. With a full year of prep, another year spent shooting, and an additional eight months of editing, you might think we’d be ready to ring the bell and throw in the towel by the end. Not a bit of it. The deep affection we developed for the world and characters on screen was paralleled by the incredible camaraderie we built off screen. The cast and crew got together for quiz nights, formed a running club, started yoga classes, put together a football team, and even held group boxing sessions. The end of a shoot is always a bittersweet affair, none more so than A Thousand Blows. But before we begin at the end, let’s go back to the beginning…

The project started when Verity Simpson, a researcher at Water & Power, shared a striking image of Hezekiah Moscow with my colleague Sam Myer and me. This extraordinary man in the picture had arrived in London in the 1880s from Jamaica with his friend Alec Munroe, with a wild ambition to become a lion tamer. Instead, he carved out a name for himself as a bare-knuckle boxer. All true. Moscow regularly fought against the legendary Henry ‘Sugar’ Goodson, the king of the bare-knuckle scene, alongside his brother Edward ‘Treacle’ Goodson, during fight nights organised by William ‘Punch’ Lewis. Again, all true. The sheer uniqueness of this story and the incredible characters blew our minds – it read like a show already.

At that time, we were already collaborating with Stephen Graham on the Sky series CODE 404 (alongside Daniel Mays, who would later play ‘Punch’ Lewis in A Thousand Blows), and we had built a strong rapport with Stephen and his wife, Hannah Walters, over the years. Knowing Stephen’s passion for boxing and their shared desire to produce additional projects alongside their acting careers, we decided to pitch it.

In the midst of the challenging days of COVID in 2020, we sent them our research document with the concept of having Stephen play Henry ‘Sugar’ Goodson, along with inviting them both to join as producers. Thankfully, they loved the idea.

By a stroke of luck, we were also in talks with producer Simon Vaughan about potential projects for his emerging company, which would become The Story Collective. During our conversations, we shared the concept for A Thousand Blows with him, and he expressed his enthusiasm to support it if we could bring on a writer. Back to Hannah…

Hannah suggested we speak to Steven Knight, whom she and Stephen knew from their work on Taboo and Peaky Blinders. Yeah right, we thought. But when it comes to Hannah, saying no is never an option, and the same turned out to be true for Steven Knight. He felt an immediate connection to the real-life characters, and after a brief call with Sam and me, he came on board to write the first script. Again, our minds were blown.

Damian Keogh joined Simon at TSC and was instrumental in pulling everything together. The development was agreed and the happy co-production between Water & Power Productions, Matriarch Productions (Hannah and Stephen’s company), and The Story Collective was born.

Within just a few months, Steven delivered a script that was perfection. A lyrical and vivid portrait of characters teetering between the old and the new, beautifully capturing their struggles. His masterstroke was the addition of Mary Carr and The Forty Elephants, an all-female crime gang, into the narrative creating an incendiary trinity of Sugar, Hezekiah, and Mary that would power the series.

At this point, The Story Collective was growing, and Kate Lewis became the next vital addition to our executive team, with Amy Mobley stepping in as Head of Production. To strengthen our line-up even further, Damian proposed bringing in David Olusoga, whose profound understanding of historical narratives would add invaluable depth to the project.

But where to go from here? Even with the incredible talents of Stephen Graham and Steven Knight, launching a show of this scale is no small feat. Simon and Damian proposed a brilliant idea: why not set the series at the old Budweiser brewery in Mortlake? This location would allow us to leverage the existing Victorian architecture along the river and utilise the old work yard to create an expansive exterior backlot, while soundproofing the factory for our interior sets.

In a time when authentic Victorian streets are disappearing and location costs are skyrocketing, this approach would provide A Thousand Blows with distinctive street scenes that are both unique and, if carefully worked, budget-friendly.

Enter into the ring… Disney – and their heavyweights Liam Keelan (former SVP, Original Production), Lee Mason (Executive Director, Scripted), and Jonny Richards (Senior Manager, Scripted) – who TSC instinctively felt was the best home for the show. They understood the vision, both in terms of the production model and Steven Knight’s narrative direction for the series, and after some more work making sure the set-up was feasible, the greenlight was secured.

For a small, fully independent production company, this was a monumental moment for Water & Power. We had gone from producing Sky’s CODE 404, to the indie film The Phantom of the Open to landing one of the largest TV commissions in the UK. Partnering with two of the most exciting companies in the industry and being backed by Disney, truly surpassed our wildest expectations. Once again, our minds were blown.