Every Steven Knight TV show ranked – the busiest man in the industry who's set to write Bond

All this has been releasing as Knight has also been working on film projects, having at one time been announced to write a Star Wars movie, which he is no longer attached to, and recently being confirmed as the scribe for Denis Villeneuve's new Bond movie. He really just doesn't stop.

But now that House of Guinness has been released, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at Knight's back catalogue, and rank all of the series he has written over the years – but which is better A Christmas Carol or Great Expectations? How about This Town versus Taboo?

We haven't included his films as we wanted reader to be able to make their way through it before Christmas.

So here it is – read on for our full ranking of Steven Knight's TV shows – from Peaky Blinders to House of Guinness.

11. A Christmas Carol

It may be divisive, but I would argue that this is it – the worst of the worst. A Christmas Carol is not only the weakest of Knight's shows, but it's also one of the shoddiest Dickens adaptations to date, and there have been a lot of them.

There will be some who appreciate what Knight is trying to do here, in bringing a bit of grit and historical realism to Dickens's well-trodden story. However, for the vast majority we knew we were in for a rough time when the whole thing opened with a boy urinating on Marley's grave, and we watched the urine travel through the Earth, into the coffin and on to his corpse.

What followed was a torturous three-part misery-fest, which included gratuitous references to child abuse and sexual assault. It also fundamentally seemed to forget the entire notion of what A Christmas Carol is all about – redemption. By adding in a bafflingly ill-judged storyline in which Scrooge sexually harasses and humiliates Mary Cratchett, it makes him so utterly reprehensible that no final act change of heart can in any way bring him absolution.

The final moments in which Mary reveals herself to have been in league with the spirits, and to have further plans, is the final nail in the coffin. The issue isn't with changing elements of the story. That's really the only reason to keep adapting Dickens's work (especially when the perfect on-screen version, The Muppet Christmas Carol, already exists). But the failing here is to entirely miss the spirit of the story – no pun intended.

10. All the Light We Cannot See

This series arrived on Netflix with plenty of hype in 2023, yet the fact it has already been almost completely forgotten about says it all.

It's based on a Pulitzer prize-winning novel, has a glossy sheen and strong production values, and stars some big name actors such as Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie, alongside talent Aria Mia Loberti and Louis Hofmann. By all metrics, it should have been a big success.

However, there's a real messiness to the pacing, structure and narrative here. One wonders whether a film adaptation would have worked better, or whether Anthony Doerr's story is better simply left on the page. What we have here just feels confused, with an unnecessary use of multiple timelines, a bad case of telling rather than showing, with scenes of lengthy, uninspiring dialogue, and a lack of focus – some elements feel rushed, while others drag terribly.

In the end, the whole thing just feels quite weightless – a cardinal sin giving the hard-hitting subject matter, period and setting it is attempting to interrogate.

10. The Veil

This American thriller series marked Knight's first foray into the spy genre, at least on TV – here's hoping that it doesn't give us any pointers as to what we can expect from his upcoming Bond film.

Sadly, this was a dud. Sure, it had enough of the spy thrills you'd expect from this sort of series to keep things interesting, and had a certain pace about it, but for the most part it was just extremely generic, with clumsy dialogue and uninspired characterisation.

The relationship between the two central characters, played by Elisabeth Moss and Yumna Marwan was interesting enough to keep viewers on their toes, and it was mercifully short at only six episodes.

However, this doesn't nearly match up to Knight's best, most complex pieces, and is lacking the distinct tones that he has brought to so many of his projects.

8. See

See is an interesting series. It has a fascinating sci-fi concept at its heart, a highly specific visual style and a A-list star at its centre in Jason Momoa. Yet it never quite fully works.

Don't get me wrong, it certainly improves over its run, and is a testament to Apple TV+. Were it to on another streamer or on a regular network, one imagines it would have been cancelled after its first season, which received less than stellar reviews.

Instead, it was allowed to run its course, and developed a reputation for well-staged action and compelling performances, even if its story never entirely justified its length - episodes were left to drag, with no real sense of forward momentum and some often bafflingly comedic performance choices thrown in for good measure.

One feels that Knight is at his best when utilising some level of source material – particularly that can be woven into history. Here, in developing his own brand-new mythology, he feels strangely adrift.

7. Great Expectations

There are a few reasons why Knight's second Dickens adaptation is stronger than his first. For one thing, it's less insistent on its own edginess, and the source material has also been adapted slightly fewer times, meaning it feels just that little bit fresher.

However, the primary reason is simple – Olivia Colman. Colman is magnificent as Miss Havisham, lighting up scenes which may otherwise have been dreary and repetitive.

Fionn Whitehead is also strong as Pip, and there is just more humour here, bringing some balance to all the incessant darkness. Some of this may be a bit misjudged and slightly out of place – one scene featuring Mr Pumblechook and an iron rod springs to mind – but it certainly keeps things interesting.

Elsewhere, unfortunately, the same problems as were attached to A Christmas Carol prevail, and this time they're spread across six episodes rather than three. It all culminates in a series which is not unwatchable, but certainly more forgettable than other, more successful adaptations of the story.

6. This Town

This Town is Knight's love letter to his hometown and to his youth, so it's unsurprising there is a real sense of passion behind the series. You can tell how much he loves this era, these characters, this place. For someone who also hails from the Midlands, it's rather infectious, and heartening to see.

There are others positives to this series too. The young, up-and-coming actors are all terrifically well cast and bring a real dynamism to their roles. There is also a real heart to the show, and a sense of pathos which isn't always Knight's modus operandi. As you'd expect given the subject matter, the soundtrack to This Town is also top notch.

However, the biggest problem with the series is that it's just so messy. It at times feels more like a mood-piece than a series with a clear narrative structure, as Knight juggles a host of ideas and themes around. Most if not all of them are interesting to some degree, but they don't get nearly enough attention.

Couple that with the fact it takes an entire six episodes for the central characters to form a band, which is on paper meant to be the crux of the show, and This Town ends up being one of the most frustrating of Knight's shows, given the potential it shows for greatness.

5. Taboo

Taboo is very much Knight operating on the grimmer end of his tonal spectrum, and given my reaction to his Dickens adaptations, you may think that would be to its detriment.

However, by exploring new stories, with the help of stellar leading man Tom Hardy, and bringing a sense of the gothic into the mix, he provides us with an atmospheric piece which may not be his best work, but is a strong character study with phenomenal performances.

It also isn't afraid to throw in some real avant-garde, supernatural and unexpected elements, which keep you on your toes and give the whole series the sense of a unique fever dream.

With wit still sprinkled throughout and a real dedication from Hardy, there's a reason viewers have been calling for a second season of this show ever since it debuted – one Knight has promised, but which has yet to materialise.

4. A Thousand Blows

Knight teamed up with his frequent collaborator Stephen Graham to bring us this boxing drama earlier in 2025, which may have had some pacing issues, but had style to spare, a fascinating look at some unexplored historical stories, and some wonderfully complex characters to explore.

All three of the leads - Graham, Malachi Kirby and Erin Doherty – are on fire here, with a clear passion for the material and dedication to their roles.

The relationship between Kirby's Hezekiah and Doherty's Mary is sparky and hugely fun to watch, while Graham's Sugar is a figure so damaged and knotty you could watch him do almost anything and it would be compelling.

That's a good thing too, because the one problem with the series is the nature of its story and its structure. The truth is, building a series out of the question of which one of two men will be on top of the boxing game only takes you so far – there's only so many times they can fight and it can retain the same stakes. Thankfully, the Forty Elephants story is there to carry it, but here's hoping that in season 2 it finds a more propulsive story engine to keep things moving.

3. SAS Rogue Heroes

Two seasons in and with a third on the way, this Second World War drama is Knight at his most rambunctious. Gone is the dreariness of his Dickens adaptations, which he could so easily have brought to a period marked by death and destruction.

Instead, Knight intends to fill the piece with the same energy as the SAS are reported to have had in their early days, and does so with a punky edge. The series is filled with modern rock music to breathe life into the stories, while the characters have a more contemporary feel than one might imagine going in.

The series has also managed to do something one might previously have thought impossible, which is to really shine a light on elements of the war which have not been greatly explored in media.

It may at times be a little too fun-loving for its own good – after all, we are still dealing with a devastating war that took real lives – but when it does pull on the heartstrings and delve into the brutal reality of war, it manages to make those moments really land, and in fact have more of an impact.

2. House of Guinness

It might be early to say this – the show has only just been released, and time can always shape and change reflections on a project – but I'd argue that House of Guinness is the best Knight series in years.

It would be hard to claim that it's his most innovative work, and it feels very much within his wheelhouse, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just means Knight is playing to his strengths, using real history as a basis for a fictional story surrounding the titular Guinness family.

The relationships on screen are captivating to follow, and the cast that has been assembled here is superb. Although budgets are rarely disclosed when it comes to TV, this also seems as though it may be Knight's most expensive series to date, by some margin. There's a real grandeur to everything on screen, and it helps to sell the scope of what Knight is doing, while also being visually sumptuous to watch.

Come the end of the eight episodes, viewers will no doubt be desperate for more, and with a thoroughly fleshed-out world on offer here, one could imagine this series could run and run, delving into each character's story more and more.

Of course, we all know what tops it though...

1. Peaky Blinders

Could it be anything else? Peaky Blinders had to top this list, not because it's Steven Knight's best-known project or most popular, but because it simply is the best.

It has the regional passion that we've seen in This Town, the exploration of previously under-the-radar history merged with fictional events that we've seen in House of Guinness, stylish costuming and production design like A Thousand Blows, and the action of SAS Rogue Heroes.

At its heart, the primary reason that people love Peaky Blinders is the characters. From Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby to the late Helen McCrory's Polly, each of them has a real depth, which remains the show's key interest throughout all the twists and turns, even as the scale and scope increases.

It's also a tonal marvel, allowing itself to lean into the grit and darkness where needed, but still containing the fun and humour which is present in all of Knight's best works. With a film on the way, it's wholly unsurprising the writer has felt unable to let go of this show and its world just yet – it's just too enticing.

House of Guinness will be available to watch from Thursday 25th September on Netflix – sign up from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Add House of Guinness to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.