Hit & Miss

Lore & Background

Mia, a post-operative transgender woman, works as a contract killer in Manchester. After her ex-girlfriend Wendy dies of cancer, Mia learns she fathered a son, Ryan, and is named guardian of Ryan and his three half-siblings. The family lives in a rural farmhouse near Manchester, and Mia struggles to balance her assassin duties with parenting. Her boss Eddie regards her as a top employee, while she develops a romantic interest in Ben and navigates relationships with the children, including Riley, Levi, and Leonie.

The series was conceived by Abbott as a combination of two separate ideas: one about a transsexual mother of five and another about a hitman. Writer Sean Conway scripted all six episodes, and his research involved 'strange Google lists detailing sex changes and hand guns.' Chloë Sevigny prepared for the role by reading medical notes and autobiographies of transgender individuals, and she wore a prosthetic penis only for a flashback scene showing her pre-operative body, which she found emotionally difficult. The series was filmed in Manchester.

Despite early indications that Sky Atlantic seemed keen on a second series, the channel later stated that Hit & Miss was always commissioned as a self-contained drama, implying renewal was never an option. Sevigny noted that other actors were optioned for another season but she was not, and she expressed interest in seeing where the story could go.

Reader's Guide

Hit & Miss holds significance as Sky Atlantic's first original drama commission, marking the channel's entry into original programming. The series received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 72/100 based on 16 reviews, and most praise directed at Sevigny's performance. Critics highlighted the show's unpredictable nature and strong acting, though some found the premise improbable or the tone overly solemn. The series' treatment of transgender themes, including Mia's pre-operative status and her son exploring gender identity, generated discussion. The show's cancellation—or lack of renewal—was clarified by Sky Atlantic as intentional, despite earlier reports of possible continuation. Its legacy lies in its bold, genre-blending concept and its place in early 2010s British television.

Did You Know?

• Chloë Sevigny cried every time the prosthetic penis was put on her for the flashback scene showing her pre-operative body.
• The series was conceived by Paul Abbott as a combination of two separate TV series ideas.
• Sky Atlantic stated that Hit & Miss was always intended as a self-contained drama, not a series open to renewal.
• Sevigny read medical notes and autobiographies of transgender individuals to prepare for her role.

From Channel 108 to the Pay-TV Landscape

Sky Atlantic entered the British pay-television market on 1 February 2011, taking over the slot on Sky channel 108 that had previously been occupied by Sky 3. The channel had been formally announced on 25 October 2010, and from day one it served viewers across the United Kingdom and Ireland. In its earliest months, Stuart Murphy oversaw programming across several Sky channels, including Sky Atlantic, while Elaine Pyke was elevated to the role of director specifically for the new channel in May 2011. Although the channel was accessible to Sky subscribers through on-demand platforms such as Sky Go and Now, securing carriage on rival networks proved difficult. Both BT TV and Virgin Media entered negotiations but failed to reach agreement, with Virgin's impasse attributed to pricing disputes. That stalemate persisted for over a decade until 23 February 2026, when Virgin Media O2 confirmed a new arrangement bringing Sky Atlantic to its Stream and TV 360 packages from 1 April. The channel's identity, however, was always anchored not in domestic output but in its role as a gateway for premium American television.

The American Catalogue and Shifting Rights

From its inception, Sky Atlantic's schedule was overwhelmingly built around imported American series, with HBO content accounting for more than half of all programming. The foundation of this strategy was a £150 million, five-year agreement granting Sky exclusive UK and Ireland television rights to HBO's full archive and new output, along with a first-look arrangement on co-productions. That exclusivity endured through multiple renewals until 26 March 2026, when the arrival of HBO Max in the UK, Ireland, and several European markets rendered the old model obsolete. In December 2024, Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery amended their contract to secure life-of-series rights for existing HBO titles such as House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, and Euphoria, while all future originals like the Harry Potter series would stream exclusively on HBO Max. Sky retained the ability to negotiate individual programme deals and to continue existing franchise series as co-exclusives. The channel also held Showtime broadcast rights from January 2016 through December 2021, and by 2025 had begun acquiring series from Peacock, while early-2026 first-look agreements with Starz and Canal+ pointed toward joint co-commissions.

Channel Architecture and the VIP Experiment

Sky Atlantic operated within a carefully layered channel architecture designed to maximise value for its subscriber base. The channel was available in both standard and high definition, with Sky's HD swap bouquet system placing the HD feed on channel 108 and the SD version on 808 for HD Pack subscribers. A one-hour timeshift service, Sky Atlantic +1, debuted in September 2012 and underwent several channel-number relocations over the years, shifting from 173 to 170 in 2015, then 217 in 2017, and finally 208 in 2018 as part of broader Sky EPG reshuffles. More experimentally, Sky Atlantic VIP served as a rewards channel for long-term subscribers and those with premium bundles, offering brand-new episodes roughly a week ahead of the main channel. Because it only aired when a fresh episode was available, the channel was off-air most of the time. It closed in June 2019. In January 2024, select Atlantic programming began simulcasting on Sky Showcase, a secondary channel that itself shut down in February 2026.

Beyond the UK: European Editions and the Streaming Crossover

Sky Atlantic's brand extended well beyond the British and Irish markets through dedicated local-language editions. Sky Deutschland carried a German-language version serving Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, while Sky Italia broadcast an Italian-language feed in Italy. Both satellite channels followed the same core philosophy of programming dominated by acquired foreign series, typically dubbed into the local language. The Italian edition, however, also served as a launchpad for domestically produced Sky Originals, premiering acclaimed Italian productions such as Gomorrah, The Young Pope, and ZeroZeroZero. Back in the UK, the channel complemented its imported slate with a smaller number of original British dramas, including Fortitude, Tin Star, and Gangs of London. Looking ahead, the post-HBO era brought a new slate of upcoming titles: Crystal Lake and Yaga both slated for October 2026, The Good Daughter in November 2026, and Superfakes in 2027, signalling that Sky Atlantic would continue to anchor its schedule around premium acquired content even as the exclusive-rights landscape fundamentally shifted.