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 is a great match for fans of the film. The new series from Steven Knight has already been favorably compared to Knight's previous show Peaky Blinders, but Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies also create an apt comparison. 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' cast each do great work in making their characters feel believable by having their more emotional moments contrast with the toughness that they have developed through living in London in the 1880s. The real historical basis for the events of the series and certain characters also adds another layer of enjoyment for audiences. It is no surprise that 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.

A Thousand Blows centers on several different characters living in London's East End around the same time that Sherlock Holmes takes place. , 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 members of the area's illegal bare-knuckle boxing ring, particularly Sugar Goodson.

While the characters are in fairly different circumstances than Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's adaptation, . 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.

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, . 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 , which has luckily already been renewed for a second season as well.

• 

  Sherlock Holmes