Howard Overman has revealed why he deliberately ignored one of television’s longest-standing crime drama conventions while creating new UKTV thriller Hit Point, insisting audiences simply “don’t give a s**t” about traditional police procedural storylines.
Speaking exclusively at a special screening attended by GB News, the Bafta-winning Misfits creator explained he set out to make a British crime series that felt closer to an American thriller than the police dramas typically seen on UK television.
Mr Overman admitted he has grown frustrated with the familiar formula used across the genre and decided to strip many of its staple elements from Hit Point.
“I have a massive problem with a lot of procedural shows,” he said. “I just find them very formulaic.”
Howard Overman said he wanted Hit Point to feel more like an American thriller than a traditional British police drama
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The writer explained that he established a series of strict rules before production even began.
“We did have hard and fast rules,” he revealed.
“You never see their boss.”
He continued: “A lot of shows are obsessed with higher-ups and the management structure.
Mr Overman spoke during a Q&A panel following a special screening of Hit Point on Tuesday
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“I thought, just the audience, don’t give a s*** about that, really.”
“I don’t want to see any points where they’re looking at whiteboards, sitting in offices discussing who’s going to do what, or scenes where they’re being hauled over the coals.”
Mr Overman said he also banned several visual staples of British police dramas.
“There were no interviews, no fluorescent jackets, because British police officers just look s*** compared to the Americans, don’t they?” he joked.
The cast of Hit Point stars Nick Blood and Saffron Hocking as detectives Leo and Bella
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Instead, he wanted viewers to become invested in the characters rather than the mechanics of police work.
“I wanted it to feel more like an American show where they were constantly on the move, like a road movie,” he explained.
The creative cited George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez’s Out of Sight as a key influence.
“I just wanted it to have more of that American noir feel instead of the influence of British crime drama.”
Saffron Hocking on set of Hit Point
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The six-part series follows detectives Leo and Bella as they investigate a robbery, although Leo is secretly leading a dangerous double life.
Mr Overman admitted the idea itself came from a real-life conversation with a former police officer.
“He said to me, ‘If I ever run out of money, I would make such a good criminal.’ It was just from that that I suddenly thought, ‘Oh, that’s quite a good idea – a police officer who then robbed somewhere.'”
He also revealed much of the drama is rooted in his own life, including a bizarre storyline involving a carton of eggs.
Howard Overman created and wrote Hit Point, which premieres on U&Dave this summer
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“The eggs were something that actually happened to me,” he laughed. “I had a pack of 12 eggs and eight of them were double yolkers… my kids were absolutely dismissive of me.”
Even one of the show’s characters came directly from reality.
“Daryl the plasterer was the guy I wanted to plaster a room in my house,” Overman explained, joking that after promising to name-check him in Hit Point, the tradesman arrived with his team the very next day and completed the work for just £200.
Reflecting on whether audiences would sympathise with Leo despite his criminal actions, Overman said moral perfection has never interested him as a writer.
Hit Point blends crime, action, romance and comedy in a six-part thriller set in London
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“I didn’t want to do a show where the leads were just straight good guys,” he said.
“I watch TV – I never generally care what people are up to as long as I’ve got something for me to like.”
He added that his goal was for viewers to root for Leo’s relationship with Bella, even while questioning some of the character’s decisions.
“I think our intention was that you don’t want him to get caught and you want him to be with Bella. That’s kind of hopefully what an audience will think.”