Stephen Graham’s A Thousand Blows is this week's must-watch show

If you love Peaky Blinders' Stephen Graham as much as we do, we're about to deliver some very exciting news. This week's must-watch TV drama stars none other than the man himself, as he steps into the shoes of Sugar Carson, a menacing boss of the illegal East End boxing world, in the Disney+ series A Thousand Blows.

We should also add that he's undergone an extreme transformation for the role. In fact, having done some series bulking up, even Graham couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw himself in one of the scenes. To prepare for the role, he "became a proper athlete", training five days a week and consuming five protein-heavy meals a day. And his transformation might be just as well, given his character gets into some serious scraps in the series.

a muscular man in a dimly lit room wearing red pants

Disney+

With just days to go until the series premiere, here's everything you need to know about Stephen Graham's latest drama series...

What’s is A Thousand Blows about?

Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight is behind the drama, which is set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in Victorian London. Consisting of six hour-long episodes, the series marks a reunion for Knight and Stephen Graham, given their Peaky history.

a boxer during training in a dimly lit gym demonstrating a punch with strong body posture

Disney+

So, what's the story? The drama centres around Hezekiah (Malachi Kirby) and Alec (Francis Lovehall), two best friends who have recently arrived from Jamaica. Drawn into the criminal underbelly of London’s bare-knuckle boxing scene, the pair meet Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), leader of The Forty Elephants – the notorious all-female London gang – as they battle for survival on the streets.

As Hezekiah sharpens his new skills and rises up the boxing ranks, he comes up against Sugar Goodson (Graham), a dangerous boxer who will stop at nothing to ensure he destroys his newest rival. Cue an epic fight for power that gets seriously ugly.

"I couldn't believe it was me"

Graham has said that even he was shocked by how much his body changed in preparation for the role (see the trailer above). "I’ve never been that big," he said. "It changed the way I sat, the way I conducted myself. The first day of filming, the director went, 'Do you want to look at the playback?' And I remember going, ‘Is that me?’ I couldn’t believe it."

Knight recently revealed that the idea for the series actually came from Graham, describing it as “fantastic”. And if Peaky Blinders is anything to go by, we’re expecting big things!