Slow Horses Meets Peaky Blinders In The 25-Episode Crime Series Renewed For Season 4

Published Sep 10, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT

Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
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Peaky Blinders and Slow Horses are both distinct additions to the crime thriller genre. Interestingly, though, there is one show that cleverly combines elements from both and delivers an equally compelling crime drama. The show in question, Gangs of London, has been performing incredibly well so far and is even set to return with season 4 soon.

After six seasons and a movie, it is quite evident that Peaky Blinders' primary appeal comes from Cillian Murphy's portrayal of Thomas Shelby's antihero charisma and the overarching modernized period setting. Even the show's underdog class warfare feels relatable while its depiction of post-World War II psychological trauma hits hard.

Slow Horses, on the other hand, is so highly acclaimed because of its fascinating anti-Bond approach. The Apple TV show brilliantly subverts sleek intelligence thrillers and replaces their well-worn tropes with workplace dark comedy and bureaucratic corruption. Gangs of London packs many aspects of both Peaky Blinders and Slow Horses into its narrative while finding its own identity in the genre.

Gangs Of London Is, Surprisingly, A Video Game Adaptation

Created by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery, Gangs of London is based on a video game of the same name by Sony's London Studio. Those familiar with the original game would know that it was very similar to Grand Theft Auto, featuring everything from stylized gangs to mini-quests. From a narrative standpoint, the game was not even too heavy on storytelling and relied more on arcade-style mini-games.

The show elevates the game's setting to an almost prestige television domain. Gareth Evans merely borrows the underlying concept from the games by unfolding a story where several criminal syndicates fight for power in modern London after a kingpin is assassinated. However, instead of giving the series a one-dimensional story like the games, Evans completely overhauls everything from the characters to the overarching tone.

Instead of coming off as a direct rehash of the game's world, Gangs of London is also packed with Evans' signature hyper-choreographed, brutally visceral action. Even its brutality becomes a solid narrative device that reminds viewers of some of the most compelling action-packed crime thrillers like The Raid, The Departed, and Snatch.

Considering how the show takes a no-holds-barred approach towards violence, not all viewers will be able to stomach its high-stakes crime drama. Still, it deserves to rank among some of the best modern crime dramas and even the greatest video game adaptations of our time.

Gangs Of London Is Like A Modern-Day Peaky Blinders (But In London)

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One of the most direct connections between Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London is Joe Cole. While he is more recognizable for playing John Shelby in Peaky Blinders, he does an incredible job of capturing the lead, Sean Wallace, in Gangs of London. After playing the hot-headed Shelby brother in Peaky Blinders, Cole almost graduates to portraying an unstable family patriarch in Gangs of London's modern London setting.

Similar to Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London, too, centers on a ruthless family business deadset on maintaining control and dominance when sudden chaos erupts at the top. Even from a visual standpoint, Gangs of New York is heavily stylized with its portrayal of everything from violence to soundtracks.

Unlike Peaky Blinders, it is not set in 1920s Birmingham, but it does not shy away from combining its gripping criminal drama with over-the-top elements that push its violent world to the extreme.

Gangs of London