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A Thousand Blows returns for its second season darker, bruised, and more inward-looking than before, and when Steven Knight and Malachi Kirby sat down with Kyle Meredith, it was clear that shift was intentional. The Disney+ series, set in the brutal underbelly of 1880s London, picks up with its characters stripped of bravado and fighting to survive the consequences of Season 1. Knight, best known as the creator of Peaky Blinders, leans hard into the idea that history doesn’t unfold neatly, while Kirby’s Hezekiah Moscow — loosely inspired by real-life figures — has taken enough hits to fundamentally change how he moves through the world. Together, the writer and star unpacked the ambition, physicality, and moral fallout driving the new season. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.
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One of the defining elements of the show is its massive, fully built 1880s London set, something Knight describes as transformative for everyone involved. “It’s built in an old brewery on the River Thames and it basically is 1880s London,” he says, explaining that actors could wander alleys, pubs, and bedrooms without ever leaving the world. For Kirby, that immersion erases the usual barriers of performance. “It felt like I was shooting on location,” he notes. “The detail that went into every single brick… I didn’t have to pretend that something was there that wasn’t. I don’t think I really saw a green screen.”
That lived-in reality feeds directly into Hezekiah’s emotional collapse in Season 2, a shift Kirby embraced rather than resisted. “He’s taken a few too many blows,” Kirby says, describing a character driven by vengeance but still carrying remnants of hope underneath. Knight frames the darkness as inevitable rather than cynical, pointing out that the real Hezekiah Moscow didn’t give up on himself, even when life rerouted his dreams. “In everything I write, I try to be optimistic about what the human spirit can achieve,” Knight explains. “Life happens, London happens — but you don’t stop.” It’s that tension between brutality and belief that keeps A Thousand Blows from becoming just another period slog.
Listen to Steven Knight and Malachi Kirby talk about A Thousand Blows Season 2, and more in the new episode above or by watching the video below. Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network.
