Peacock’s newest original comedy is the British series Hitmen. While it debuted in the UK in March, this is the first time Americans will be getting a look at this funny workplace sitcom, although in this case the workplace happens to be the van of Jamie and Fran, the titular pair of contract killers. They’re played by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, respectively, who are best-known in the US as Mel and Sue, the original presenters on The Great British Baking Show. Here, the longtime comedy duo are droll hired guns who spend most of their time with a mark tied up in the back of their van waiting for the go-ahead to dispatch them from their employer, the little seen or heard, Mr. K. It’s a dark scenario made ridiculous by the daffy Jamie and the matter-of-fact Fran’s wry banter and the way their comic incompetence inevitably leads to things going awry.
Unlike a show like HBO's Barry, Hitmen’s characters are unaffected by their gruesome job. Their attitude is similar to many other workaday sitcom characters who get through their hours at the office by focusing on anything other than work. In lesbian Fran’s case that’s her visa marriage to a gay man who sells her stuff on eBay and steals her car, and in Jamie’s it’s her lack of interest in her seemingly handsome, caring boyfriend Colin (Sheldon Frett).
The only other people the pair regularly see are rival hitmen, Liz (Tonya Cornelisse), an overly aggressive American who Fran has a crush on, and Charles (Asim Chaudhry), Liz’s friendly partner. Otherwise, the pair mostly interact with their latest eccentric victim. Many of these hapless individuals end up being drawn into Jamie and Fran’s drama, leading to various degrees of comedy. Fleabag’s Sian Clifford is especially effective as an accountant who’s been stealing from Mr. K and very nearly outsmarts the pair. It’s this dynamic between Jamie, Fran and their latest victim that mostly drives the comedy of each half-hour episode. And the duo’s talky back-and-forth and casual debates about how to deal with their victims are always witty and sometimes hilarious.
There’s nothing especially deep or meaningful about the show. We never learn why Jamie and Fran decided to become contract killers, there are no existential crises or attacks of conscience, and even when the blood flows, it’s treated with an amusing insouciance. More sensitive viewers might find this distasteful, but the show has such a light touch it’s hard not to be entertained at the pair’s antics, whether they’re having an absurd discussion about the best way to torture a victim or engaging in a slapstick chase in pursuit of a victim who escaped while they were distracted.
Giedroyc and Perkins have an easy-going chemistry honed over years of working together, and they bounce off the other characters that enter their orbit in fun and specific ways that keep the show interesting. The first season is a mere six episodes, and that feels about right for the premise. While it tweaks its basic formula in the last two installments, it’s only in the final episode that the show develops real stakes, leading to a cliffhanger that could hint at a bigger, bolder second season.
For now, though, as long as the basic idea of Jamie and Fran’s vocation doesn’t turn you off, the first season is satisfyingly silly, making it a good choice for anyone in need of a laugh. You may not find yourself highly invested, but the show offers a few hours of breezily funny entertainment, and in this case, that’s more than enough to make Hitmen worth checking out.
Hitmen, starring Sue Perkins, Mel Giedroyc, Tonya Conelisse, Asim Chaudhry and Sian Clifford, premieres on Thursday, August 6 on Peacock.