96 shootings, 30 stabbings and 113 DEATHS (so far): Gangs Of London is Peaky Blinders with a modern twist... and it's tooling up for even more carnage in season two despite fans claiming it was 'too violent'

  • Gangs Of London relies on thriving commercial London backdrops, fast cars, and the kind of high-caliber guns Tommy Shelby could only dream of
  • Launched in 2020, the show's nine episode run clocked up a staggering 113 deaths, as well as harrowing scenes of torture
  • The figure superseded the first season of notoriously graphic HBO drama Game Of Thrones, which ended with a comparatively paltry 48 fatalities 
  • Gangs Of London drew in a promising 2.23 million viewers for its first episode, Sky Atlantic's second biggest original drama launch
  • Created by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery, the show will return with a hotly anticipated second season in 2022With its epic portrayal of city-dwelling criminal families and internal power struggles, back-lit by the mindless violence that illuminates every good gangster yarn, one could be forgiven for thinking Sky Atlantic's latest show draws heavily from the Peaky Blinders school of drama. 

    But while the BBC's hugely successful six series staple depicts an industrial 19th century Birmingham still reeling from the economic impact - and inevitable human cost - of World War I, Gangs Of London relies on thriving London backdrops, fast cars, and the kind of high-caliber guns Tommy Shelby could only dream of. 

    Here, the Wallace family - ironically led by Peaky Blinders regular Joe Cole - dominate the modern day capital's convoluted criminal underworld, ensuring each gang gets equal parity in a loosely strategised alliance. 

    Gritty: Sky Atlantic's new drama Gangs of London is poised to return with a second series after launching to critical acclaim in 2020

    Gritty: Sky Atlantic's new drama Gangs of London is poised to return with a second series after launching to critical acclaim in 2020

    With a heady mix of Pakistani heroin traffickers, Kurdish militants, Albanian mafiosi  and even a thuggish Welsh travelling community all jostling for an equal slice of the pie, it's a tough job - but one that, initially at least, appears to be running smoothly. However things go south of the river when patriarch Finn Wallace - head of the family for more than 20-years - is assassinated, paving the way for bloody retribution as the gang seek out those responsible for his brutal death. 

    Launched in 2020, the show's nine episode run clocked up a staggering 113 deaths, as well as harrowing scenes of torture as the Wallace family waged war in the English capital. 

    Critically-acclaimed: The new show on Sky drew in 2.23 million viewers for its first episode, the channel's second biggest original drama launch, behind the 2019 hit Chernobyl

    Critically-acclaimed: The new show on Sky drew in 2.23 million viewers for its firsViolent: The gritty drama has seen 113 deaths in the first season already as well as harrowing scenes of torture

    Violent: The gritty drama has seen 113 deaths in the first season already as well as harrowing scenes of torture

    That figure superseded the first season of notoriously graphic HBO drama Game Of Thrones, which ended with a comparatively paltry 48 fatalities. 

    Among the 13 gruesome incidents of torture are a man being entombed in concrete and a mother having her nails and teeth removed with pliers. 

    Despite the carnage - or perhaps because of it - Gangs Of London drew in a promising  2.23 million viewers for its first episode, Sky Atlantic's second biggest original drama launch, behind the 2019 hit Chernobyl.

    Violent: The gritty drama has seen 113 deaths in the first season already as well as harrowing scenes of torture

    Violent: The gritty drama has seen 113 deaths in the first season already as well as harrowing scenes of torture

    Main man: Peaky Blinders regular Joe Cole takes the lead in Gangs Of London (pictured as John Shelby)
    ... pictured as Sean Wallace in the Sky Atlantic drama

    Main man: Joe Cole takes the lead in Gangs Of London (pictured as John Shelby in Peaky Blinders, left, and Gangs of London hardman Sean Wallace, right)

    Here we go: In the first one-and-a-half-hour show, characters are punched 26 times, kicked seven times, four are shot and three are tortured

    Here we go: In the first one-and-a-half-hour show, characters are punched 26 times, kicked seven times, four are shot and three are tortured

    In the first one-and-a-half-hour show, characters are punched 26 times, kicked seven times, four are shot and three are tortured, while its nine episodes include 96 shootings, 30 stabbings and seven strangulations.  

    Created by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery, the show will return with a hotly anticipated second season in 2022. 

    Evans also directs the majority of the episodes, including every intricately choreographed, marathon fight scene. 

    Hard as nails: The Wallace family - led by Peaky Blinders regular Joe Cole - dominate the modern day capital's convoluted criminal underworld, ensuring each gang gets equal parity in a loosely strategised alliance

    Carnage: Its first nine episodes also include 96 shootings, 30 stabbings and seven strangulations

    Carnage: Its first nine episodes also include 96 shootings, 30 stabbings and seven strangulations

    The horror: Gangs Of London doesn't hold back with its gruesome depictions of torture and death

    The horror: Gangs Of London doesn't hold back with its gruesome depictions of torture and death 

    Getting messy: The show's body count has surpassed the notoriously brutal Game Of Thrones

    Getting messy: The show's body count has surpassed the notoriously brutal Game Of Thrones

    Sky UK's Managing Director of Content Zai Bennett said: 'Not only is Gangs of London Sky's most binged premiere box-set this year, it's the biggest original drama launch on Sky Atlantic of the past five years. 

    'It's dark, dangerous and we are thrilled it is coming back for a second series. Will the Wallace family rise again, will the Dumanis remain loyal to their new allies and who is Elliot really working for?

    'All these questions and more will be waiting for Sky viewers when Gangs of London returns to screens in 2022.' 

    Director Gareth Evans recently spoke to LADbible about the potential for a second run, saying: 'Obviously when we were designing it, as with anything you design the long form - you're looking at "what can the future hold" and "where can the story continue to go and develop?" 

    Getting stuck in: The fight scenes are often presented as carefully choreographed set pieces

    Getting stuck in: The fight scenes are often presented as carefully choreographed set pieces 

    All guns blazing: Bullets fly as the Wallace family seek retribution for the death of their patriarch

    All guns blazing: Bullets fly as the Wallace family seek retribution for the death of their patriarch 

    Hit show: Likened to Peaky Blinders but with a modern twist, the series shocked viewers with its gory and gritty scenes, but was hailed a runaway hit

    Hit show: Likened to Peaky Blinders but with a modern twist, the series shocked viewers with its gory and gritty scenes, but was hailed a runaway hit

  • Claret: Fans will be hoping for more blood and mayhem when the show finally returns

    Claret: Fans will be hoping for more blood and mayhem when the show finally returns 

    In the pipeline: An official air date for the second season of Gangs Of London is yet to be officially announced

    In the pipeline: An official air date for the second season of Gangs Of London is yet to be officially announced

    'And I think that by the time audiences get to where the show ends in season one, they'll know that there are so many different ways that it could play out.

    'I'm keeping super vague, I'm so sorry! But there's lots of trailing loose ends of things that are all kind of like... You'd be curious to where those characters end up, and what becomes of them when you get to season two.' 

    Rotten Tomatoes lists Gangs Of London as having an approval rating of 71 percent and claims it is 'one of the best show of the summer'. 

    Mixed response: While the show has been hugely popular, some fans have voiced concerns about its relentless violence

    Mixed response: While the show has been hugely popular, some fans have voiced concerns about its relentless violence

    But while the show has been a hit with fans, Evans has moved to defend it after some voiced concern over its gratuitous use of violence. 

    'It's individual tastes, we all have a moral barometer,' he said during an appearance at the Edinburgh Television Festival. 

    'I think if it's not for them, it's not for them, but there are lots of buttons on the remote control and you can always change channel.' 

    He added: 'If you're not into it, you're not into it, and that has always been my approach.

    'If I tried to make something that would appeal to everyone, it would appeal to no-one. I can't hedge my bets to make sure it doesn't bump for someone.' 

    GANGS OF LONDON - WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

    'A title like “Gangs of London” might suggest a steampunky romp through fetid Dickensian streets. But creators Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery want to put a new perspective on the English gangster drama, sometimes literally' The Washington Post

    'Most of us make to-do lists. Evans and his collaborators make to-die lists. At the end of the story, each line is struck through, and there are bloody thumbprints on the page' Vulture

    'Gangs of London is a bold continuation of the mafia movie tradition, yet like the inexperienced figures at its center, the show carves its own enthralling path' - ROGEREBERT.COM

    'Although the violence is explicit and extreme, it is not – quite – mindless. Its victims’ fear is palpable. Sometimes, so is its perpetrators’ The Guardian  

    'Once per episode, Gangs Of London will grab you by the scruff of the neck, hurl you against a wall, and remind you with repeated blunt force that the show comes from Gareth Evans, one of the great action directors alive' Rolling Stone

    'It’s a unrelentingly butch series, as fixated on male brooding as it is discovering precisely what might happen if you smashed a pint glass into your enemy’s chin' - The Independent 

    Actor Sope Dirisu, Elliot Finch in the series, also claimed that the violence was necessary. 

    He said: 'Nothing is gratuitous, and anything that you think is the worst thing you've ever seen, you either don't see or you don't see for very long, so, whilst it is violent, undoubtedly, it's also tasteful and it all progresses the narrative' 

    'I understand that for some people it might not ring with them but I think if they are going to dismiss the series because they think it's too violent, or they have heard it's too violent, then they are doing themselves a disservice because the series offers so much more.' 

    An official air date for the second season of Gangs Of London is yet to be officially announced. 

    Parallel: Gangs Of London relies on thriving commercial London backdrops, fast cars, and the kind of high-caliber guns Tommy Shelby could only dream of

    Parallel: Gangs Of London relies on thriving commercial London backdrops, fast cars, and the kind of high-caliber guns Tommy Shelby could only dream of 

    Popular: Rotten Tomatoes lists Gangs Of London as having an approval rating of 71 percent and claims it is 'one of the best show of the summer'

    Popular: Rotten Tomatoes lists Gangs Of London as having an approval rating of 71 percent and claims it is 'one of the best show of the summer' 

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