Chloë Sevigny is poorly cast as a transsexual hit-man, which I hadn't expected. The more sweet and timid characters she played in 'Kids' (1995) and 'Boys don't cry' (1999) are the ones I remember off the top of my head, and to see her here, with her fragile physique and swooning eyes playing a hardened hit-man and flooring any opponent necessary; it just doesn't fit. Someone noted elsewhere that casting a woman here is also a missed opportunity to have a significant lead played by an actual transsexual, and I agree. Hopefully, that will only be a matter of time(?).Storywise, 'Hit & miss' is pretty much what the title suggests. A lot of developments are credible and play cleverly with (false) expectations of the viewer, but with a couple of big exceptions. The most unbelievable thing is that Riley is able to get the gun from underneath her while being strangled by the (just about) ten times more strong John... she wouldn't have survived in real life (plus, it would have added to the drama of the series). Then, I don't believe that her utterly apathetic mother would just get up and leave her son, even if he is a total asshole - or at least don't cram it into just one episode.And, personally, I didn't find all the characters to be all that compelling, such as Riley (dear God, did she look like death itself throughout pretty much the whole series?) or Ryan (the son) whose dealings with certain (understandable) issues felt rather arbitrary. I already talked about Chloe, but I'd like to add that she also looks rather glum all of the time, which may be understandable, but still... One of the few happy moments (when she is overjoyed after a rendezvous with Ben) really stood out, 'Hit & miss' could have done with a little more of that^. Adding to all that, Mia's part of coming in and taking over at the ranch was pretty strong, a little too strong; in spite of all the hardships and the open ending she is a sort of superwoman who saves the day. Perhaps it was all too much for just six episodes...No, this was a disappointment, though certainly not all bad; the struggle for a relationship between Mia and Ben was very well done. To add the element of a hit-man with the bonus violence which such entails, is more far-fetched than anything else. A small 6 out of 10.^ I'm not impartial to glum thriller/dramas (on the contrary), but I'll mention 'Hinterland', a series that reminded me a little of this, but which comes together way better in terms of atmosphere and drama (even if it is, at its core, a detective story).

Having invested six hours of my life in this thing—for lack of a better word—I feel compelled to pen a review. There is no question that Hit & Miss is watchable—I watched the whole thing, all six episodes, in spite of the fact that much of what I saw was less than appealing. I viewed two installments of Hit & Miss each of three nights in a row, finding myself unable to resist. Perhaps the best comparison to make would be to a road kill. I simply could not stop watching this production, no matter how unsavory it became. But the question remains: is that a good or a bad thing? The story features a trans gender hit woman, actually a hit man in the process of becoming a woman. She's about half way there, popping hormones and dressing the part, though one glaring anatomical piece remains dangling between her legs. The female hormones have done nothing to mitigate her icy ability to dispatch anyone at any time for a wad of cash. In fact, it is her hits which are permitting Mia (played by Chloë Sevigny) to undertake the expensive sex change, which, it is implied, she would have been unable to afford otherwise. Mia, formerly known as "Ryan", grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. We learn among other things that her father was an abusive thug, her family having been firmly anchored in white trash culture. The setting, by the way, is the United Kingdom, so apparently white trash is not a purely American phenomenon.Suggestions of biological determination abound in this series, which brings us to the radical moral ambiguity of the production, made quite explicit by Mia's discovery that she is the father of a child now parent-less, as his mother has succumbed to cancer. Feeling a responsibility to care for the son whom she sired, Mia moves in with the motley family of bastard children mothered by Mia's former lover—back when Mia was still a he.The entire series revolves around the role of Mia as she attempts to care for the family of stray kids while simultaneously continuing on as the trusty contract killer of a criminal boss of sorts—he actually seems more akin to an agent, but rather than real estate or manuscripts, he "closes" hits for prospective buyers. Mia's boss regularly calls her to meetings in the upholstered vinyl booth of a seedy café where he pays for previous jobs and hands over a folder of data about the next victim from what appears to be an endless list of persons to be executed for whatever reason was deemed adequate by the person who fronted the cash.On the one hand, the viewer is pulled to sympathize with Mia as a trans gender protagonist attempting to realize her dream of being a woman—having been, as they say, trapped in a man's body for most of her life. She seems genuinely to care about the children whom she has taken under her wing. On the other hand, the viewer can only be repulsed by the clinical, mechanical conduct of the hit woman, who does not bat an eye at the idea of killing anyone for any reason, provided only that the price is right. For each hit, she dons an eerie "Grim Reaper" black hooded sweatshirt, pants, and boots, which imparts a ritualistic feeling to her fulfillment of the contracts. She works out and trains for the challenges of her profession in a huge empty warehouse, which might be construed as a metaphor for the vacuity of a hit man's soul. The cold, solitary nature of contract killing is more effectively conveyed in classic films such as Le Samouraï (1967), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starring Alain Delon; and The American Soldier (1970), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and starring Karl Scheydt.The bizarre, nearly schizoid, character of Mia may be intended to illustrate the general philosophical thesis that people are not black or white but only shades of moral gray. Mia is clearly a repository of moral sentiment and tries to be a good "dad" (more like a mother, given her current appearance), while at the same time supporting the family with funds procured from terminating with extreme prejudice other "dads", and thereby rendering their children fatherless. Does any of this make any sense? Not really. It's not a "banality of killing" case à la Adolf Eichmann, because Mia is not an administrator who "facilitates" the slaughter of human beings by other human beings. Instead, Mia directly and physically causes the deaths of her victims. In some ways, Hit & Miss reminds me of the Pedro Almodóvar film in which the viewer is tricked into sympathizing with a character who has sex with a comatose woman. Despite the fine cinematography of this production, it's all vaguely repugnant, in the end.

I was not initially interested in seeing this show based on it's premise. Not being prudish, but I didn't think I would relate. I couldn't have been more wrong. The show is well acted with great character development and plots that are never predictable or simple. The beauty of the scenery is an excellent compliment. Cloe Sevigny is incredible. She and the children are so natural that their characters communicate their emotions as much visually as they do vocally. I continue to be impressed with the British dramas that I have discovered. I look forward to more imports!

One of the users said that the people writing excellent reviews are biased because they're not heterosexual and are just giving it good reviews because of the nature of Chloe's character. Well I'm a heterosexual female and I enjoyed this series. Yes I do agree with some users that a lot of the characters are not likable. I especially don't like the snippy attitudes of Riley and Liam. But well you wouldn't expect teenagers that grew up like that to be nice and sweet anyway. I just wish that their characters developed more through out the episodes and started warming up to Mia and stopped being so rebellious all the time. I hope this show gets a second season