Guy Ritchie's 2009 movie Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, perfectly combine tense mysteries and exciting action, and Hulu's new show Positive reviews of A Thousand Blows have noted how great the performances, the late 19th century London setting, and the historically based story are.

A Thousand Blows has already scored an impressive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which even looks likely to continue going up as the show is discovered by more audiences.

Fans Of Sherlock Holmes Will Love A Thousand Blows' Setting

The New Series Is Set In The Same Time Period In London

A Thousand Blows centers on several different characters living in London's East End around the same time that Sherlock Holmes takes place. The series takes inspiration from the real-life all-women crime group, the Forty Elephants, with much of the show focusing on Mary Carr, a fictionalized version of the gang's leader. Carr tangles with Hezekiah Moscow, who recently emigrated from Jamaica, along with of the area's illegal bare-knuckle boxing ring, particularly Sugar Goodson.

The styles of the different works match very well as both are able to weave a sort of gritty, dangerous portrayal of London into the everyday lives of their characters.

While the characters are in fairly different circumstances than Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's adaptation, the shared setting and tone actually make A Thousand Blows feel very similar to Sherlock Holmes and its sequel. The styles of the different works match very well as both are able to weave a sort of gritty, dangerous portrayal of London into the everyday lives of their characters. Additionally, neither work frames its characters as always being the good guy. Instead, they are very complex and often do the wrong thing, but audiences still want to root for them nonetheless.

A Thousand Blows' Is Another London Crime Epic Like Sherlock Holmes

A Thousand Blows Showcases London's Criminal Underground

Beyond the very distinctive portrayal of London and the way the setting is almost a character in itself, both Sherlock Holmes and A Thousand Blows serve as great crime dramas. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most well-known characters in English literature, and his crime-solving skills are notorious.

While Ritchie's version of the detective is slightly less put together than many other versions, this actually makes him more similar to the characters in A Thousand Blows. What's more, the illegality of the boxing ring and Carr's crime group add plenty of excitement to the film. While A Thousand Blows is not an entirely truthful retelling of history, its use of the Forty Elephants and their notoriety for shoplifting and scamming during the 19th and 20th centuries gives the story a unique approach.

The crime and action of A Thousand Blows gives the series a very similar tone to much of Ritchie's work beyond Sherlock Holmes as well. Because many of Ritchie's best films are British crime movies, fans of his work more generally will love A Thousand Blows, which has luckily already been renewed for a second season as well.