Barry (TV series)

Barry
Genre	Dark comedy[1] Comedy-drama[2] Crime[3] Tragicomedy[4][5][6]
Created by	Alec Berg Bill Hader
Starring	Bill Hader Stephen Root Sarah Goldberg Glenn Fleshler Anthony Carrigan Henry Winkler
Opening theme	"Change for the World" by Charles Bradley
Composer	David Wingo
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Alec Berg Bill Hader Aida Rodgers
Producers	Liz Sarnoff Emily Heller Sarah Solemani Ben Smith Kris Baucom Megan Murphy Amy Solomon Julie Camino Jason Kim Duffy Boudreau Artūrs Rūsis Davin Michaels
Cinematography	Brandon Trost Paula Huidobro
Editors	Jeff Buchanan Kyle Reiter
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	26–35 minutes
Production companies	Alec Berg Inc. Hanarply
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	HBO
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	5.1 surround
Original release	March 25, 2018 (2018-03-25) – present (present)
External links
Website

Barry is an American dark comedy crime television series created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader that premiered on HBO on March 25, 2018. Hader stars as Barry Berkman, a hitman from Cleveland who travels to Los Angeles to kill someone but finds himself joining an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), where he meets aspiring actress Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg) and begins to question his path in life as he deals with his criminal associates such as Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root) and NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan). The second season premiered on March 31, 2019. In April 2019, HBO renewed the series for a third season, while a fourth season has been written. The eight-episode third season is set to premiere on April 24, 2022.^[7]

Barry has received critical acclaim, with most praise going to its writing, humor, characters, and performances (particularly Hader's and Winkler's), and received various accolades, including 30 Primetime Emmy Award nominations; Hader won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series twice, while Winkler won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the first season. For the second season, Winkler, Root and Carrigan all received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor, while Goldberg received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Premise[]

Barry follows Barry Berkman, a discharged Marine from Cleveland, who works as a hitman. Lonely and dissatisfied with life, he travels to Los Angeles to kill a target and ends up "finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the L.A. theater scene".^[8]

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

• Bill Hader as Barry Berkman / Barry Block, a Marine turned hitman who finds himself drawn towards human connection among a community of aspiring actors. Barry longs to put his criminal history behind him to become a full-time performer, but can't seem to stop his bloody past from creeping into the new life he tries to build for himself.
• Stephen Root as Monroe Fuches, an old family friend of Barry's who groomed him for a career as a hitman after Barry left the Marines. Fuches is cowardly and self-centered, often dragging Barry back into a life of crime to serve his own personal interest, be it money, power, or revenge.
• Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed, an aspiring actress in Barry's acting class. Sally is focused on becoming a famous actress.
• Glenn Fleshler as Goran Pazar, the leader of the Chechen mafia who employs Barry to kill a man who has been sleeping with his wife. (season 1)
• Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank, an effusively positive and naive member of the Chechen mafia and Goran's right-hand man. He later becomes the leader of the Chechen mafia himself, but struggles with the responsibility of running an organized crime ring when he is not an inherently violent person.
• Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau, an acting coach and Barry's mentor. Cousineau serves as a father figure to Barry, helping him come to terms with some of the atrocities he has committed throughout his life. Cousineau is also incredibly self-obsessed, and rarely seems to help out his students unless there is something of value in it for him.
• Sarah Burns as Detective Mae Dunn, Loach's naïve and obtuse partner. (season 3; recurring season 2)^[7]

Recurring[]

Guest[]

• Tyler Jacob Moore as Ryan Madison ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark")
• Melissa Villaseñor as Diner Waitress ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark")
• Larry Hankin as Stovka ("Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice")
• Jon Hamm as himself ("Chapter Four: Commit...To You")
• Michael Beach as Police Detective ("The Power of No")
• Patrick Fabian as Space Dad ("The Power of No")
• Sam Ingraffia as Thomas Friedman ("Past = Present x Future Over Yesterday")
• Daniel Bernhardt as Ronny Proxin ("ronny/lily")
• Jessie Giacomazzi as Lily Proxin ("ronny/lily")
• Jay Roach as himself ("The Audition")
• Allison Jones as herself ("The Audition")

Episodes[]

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	8		March 25, 2018 (2018-03-25)	May 13, 2018 (2018-05-13)
	2	8		March 31, 2019 (2019-03-31)	May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19)

Season 1 (2018)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Chapter One: Make Your Mark"	Bill Hader	Alec Berg & Bill Hader	March 25, 2018 (2018-03-25)	0.564[9]
Barry Berkman, a Marine turned hitman, is sent by his handler, Monroe Fuches, to Los Angeles to perform a hit for Chechen mob boss Goran Pazar, who wants him to kill Ryan Madison, a personal trainer and aspiring actor having an affair with Goran's wife. Barry tracks the target to an acting class taught by famed coach and author Gene Cousineau. Ryan convinces Barry to perform a scene with him and, despite how poorly it goes, invites him to a bar with the other students, where Barry takes an interest in actress Sally Reed. Barry drives a drunk Ryan home, which is witnessed by Noho Hank, the Chechen second-in-command. The next day, Fuches arrives and tells Barry that the Chechens will kill them both if Barry does not kill Ryan. That night, Barry finds Gene, who tells Barry that he is a terrible actor. An impassioned Barry tells Gene that he is a hitman but wants a different life. Gene, believing the confession is an improvised performance, is impressed enough to give Barry another shot at his class, and Barry introduces himself as "Barry Block". Barry decides to follow through on Ryan's hit, only to find Ryan already dead and the Chechens prepared to shoot him, too. Barry shoots the Chechens and flees the scene, unaware that their lipstick camera has filmed the assassination. While hiding out at a diner, Barry learns that the waitress is an actress, and he tells her he is also an actor.
2	2	"Chapter Two: Use It"	Bill Hader	Alec Berg & Bill Hader	April 1, 2018 (2018-04-01)	0.641[10]
LAPD detectives investigate the murders of Ryan and the Chechen mobsters and discover a lipstick camera left by Hank but cannot figure out how it works. Barry and Fuches are kidnapped by the Chechens, and Fuches is tortured via tooth-filing until Barry reluctantly agrees to carry out one last hit on an informant. Gene informs his class of Ryan's murder, and the students plan an on-stage memorial service for Ryan, each performing a piece in his honor. Sally asks Barry to perform a scene from Doubt, the last piece she and Ryan performed together in the class. At the service, Ryan's father delivers an impassioned speech, causing Barry significant distress because he has never before seen the grief and pain he has inflicted on people who knew Barry's victims. Shaken, Barry declines to perform the Doubt piece. As he walks Sally home, she expresses her desire to have sex with him, but he declines her advances and rushes off. From afar, a Chechen takes photos of Sally.
3	3	"Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice"	Bill Hader	Duffy Boudreau	April 8, 2018 (2018-04-08)	0.595[11]
Barry is ready to kill the Chechens' next target, Paco, but NoHo Hank tells him to wait. Pazar's new assassin, Stovka, arrives and is instructed to kill Barry and Fuches once Barry returns. Fuches attempts to talk Stovka out of killing him, and Stovka ends up killing himself instead. Detectives Moss and Loach learn of Ryan Madison's connection to Pazar and question Gene and his students. Barry helps Sally prepare for an audition, where Sally learns the lead actress is a former friend she had worked with on a failed TV series. Sally is devastated by the other actress' success and cries during her audition. Barry prepares to take out Paco but is interrupted by a phone call from Sally, who vents about her problems and begs him to come over. Barry misses his chance to kill Paco with a sniper rifle, and is forced to break into his house and strangle him to death. Barry then goes to Sally's house, where they have sex and Barry daydreams about a happy life with her.
4	4	"Chapter Four: Commit... to YOU"	Maggie Carey	Sarah Solemani	April 15, 2018 (2018-04-15)	0.511[12]
Barry reconnects with Chris, an old military friend. Fuches gives Barry his next job: to raid a Bolivian stash house, but Barry believes it to be too dangerous and backs out. Sally prepares for an audition with her agent, who makes unwelcome advances and claims he was only joking. At the audition, the casting assistant tells Sally that her agent does not represent her and sends her home in tears. Detective Moss meets with Gene at a restaurant, expecting pertinent information about the case; realizing it is a date, she stays anyway. Police techs unlock the lipstick camera, showing Barry as an obscure, silhouetted figure. At a party, Barry presents Sally with an expensive new laptop as a gift, making her uncomfortable since she barely knows him. Barry invites Chris, who brings two other rowdy Marines, Vaughn and Taylor. Barry continues to misinterpret his relationship with Sally, while the Marines encourage him to assert himself, eventually angering Sally as she does not like being treated like property. After the party, Taylor finds Barry's intel on the stash house raid and tells Barry he wants in.
5	5	"Chapter Five: Do Your Job"	Hiro Murai	Ben Smith	April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)	0.643[13]
Sally suggests to Barry that they should take a break from each other, only to immediately discover they have been cast as scene partners in the Shakespeare showcase. Detective Moss returns to the acting class and re-interviews three men, including Barry, who could match the photo of the unrecognizable figure from the lipstick camera. Barry provides an alibi with the help of Fuches, who tells him to kill Taylor once the raid is done; Barry reluctantly agrees despite his qualms about killing a fellow Marine. The acting class discusses the morality of Macbeth, and Barry, feeling the moral weight of his profession, has an emotional outburst, yelling at the class that he has killed people. The class assumes this confession is about Barry's time in the Marines, while Gene condemns the idea of killing outside of war. That night, Barry and Taylor successfully raid the stash house, killing several men, with Taylor doing most of the killing as well as saving Barry's life. The next morning, Barry meets with Fuches, who is happy to see Barry alive. Taylor soon joins, revealing Barry did not follow Fuches' advice.
6	6	"Chapter Six: Listen With Your Ears, React With Your Face"	Hiro Murai	Emily Heller	April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29)	0.560[14]
Barry and Fuches survey a desert airstrip where the Bolivian drug lord Cristobal Sifuentes is set to land, and Fuches tells Barry he wants Taylor gone. At the stash house, Pazar tells Vacha to stop photographing Barry; Vacha wants revenge because Barry killed his brother. After spending the night with Gene, Detective Moss tells him their relationship crosses a line, as she is investigating his class. At Taylor's apartment, Barry tells him he could take over Barry's job and work for Fuches, but Taylor tells Barry he should just kill Fuches. Without Barry's knowledge, Taylor stuffs money stolen from the stash house into Barry's backpack. At acting class, Barry finds the money and hides it in the bathroom ceiling. Vacha arrives at the class and follows Sally to her car, but bumps into Moss, who has come to rekindle her relationship with Gene. Vacha runs, and Moss kills him in a shootout. Moss shows other officers the cash hidden in the bathroom. Barry tells Taylor he will do the job alone, but Taylor arrives with Vaughn and Chris to bum-rush the airstrip, having followed advice he found in Barry's copy of Gene's book. Taylor drives them recklessly to the airfield, after which he and Vaughn are shot dead by the alarmed Bolivians.
7	7	"Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going"	Alec Berg	Liz Sarnoff	May 6, 2018 (2018-05-06)	0.636[15]
Barry and Chris are the only survivors of the botched bum-rush. After Chris kills a Bolivian gang member, the two escape the airfield and return to Los Angeles. Going immediately to rehearsal, Barry gives poor line delivery and is berated by Sally and Gene. The Chechens receive a call from their Bolivian assassination target, Cristobal Sifuentes, who says that there was no need for violence as he would have gladly shared the stash house with them, and declares war on the Chechens. Pazar, furious with Fuches and believing Barry dead, orders NoHo Hank to kill Fuches. Moss learns that there were Marines involved with the hit on the Bolivians and realizes that Barry is her mystery suspect despite coincidental evidence that convinces the police otherwise. Chris, visibly shaken after the morning's events, tells Barry that he intends to go to the police to clear his conscience. In an act of self-preservation, Barry kills Chris and begins to suffer an emotional breakdown. Arriving late to the class' Shakespeare night, Barry delivers his single line with such emotional intensity that the audience becomes captivated and Sally gets a confidence boost, impressing an agent she had invited.
8	8	"Chapter Eight: Know Your Truth"	Alec Berg	Alec Berg & Bill Hader	May 13, 2018 (2018-05-13)	0.548[16]
Barry takes his share of the money from Fuches before assaulting him and telling him that he's done with his life of crime. Fuches tells Pazar that Barry is alive and should be killed, but Pazar prepares to kill Fuches instead. NoHo Hank alerts Barry, who promptly kills Pazar and his gang, forcing Fuches out of Los Angeles. Hank takes over leadership of the Chechens and organizes with the Bolivians. Moss discovers Ryan's copy of Gene's book in Taylor's apartment, believing the two had teamed up to bait the Chechens and Bolivians into war. The LAPD discover Barry's massacre and conclude the Bolivians were responsible, closing the case and posthumously staining Ryan's reputation. Barry rejoins the acting class, starting a relationship with Sally. A few weeks later, Gene invites Barry, Sally and Moss to his country home, where Moss becomes suspicious of Barry after learning he goes by his stage name "Barry Block". Her suspicion is further propelled when Gene tells Moss of the monologue Barry gave about being a hitman and confirmed when she discovers a link between Barry, Chris, and Taylor on Facebook. Barry begs her not to pursue things further. When she refuses, he retrieves a hidden gun, and shots ring out. Barry returns to the still-sleeping Sally, and declares, yet again, that his criminal life is over.

Season 2 (2019)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
9	1	"The Show Must Go On, Probably?"	Hiro Murai	Alec Berg & Bill Hader	March 31, 2019 (2019-03-31)	0.532[17]
A few weeks following Moss' disappearance, the police close the case citing a lack of leads, sending Gene even further into a grief-stricken withdrawal from life. Upon returning to class after a long absence, Gene declares that the upcoming play is cancelled and that he intends to end the class permanently. Barry convinces Gene to continue the class by telling the story of the first time he killed as a Marine. NoHo Hank finds his flourishing partnership with Cristobal threatened by Esther, the Burmese gang leader that the Bolivians want to bring into the operation. Hank also finds himself facing an assassination attempt from his family back in Chechnya due to his failure to kill Pazar's assassin. Hank claims that Esther was responsible for Pazar's death in an attempt to protect Barry. Hank goes to Barry for help, but Barry is furious with him for approaching him in public and turns him away. Later, Hank approaches Barry once more and reminds him that Barry owes him for saving his life, and threatens to kill Barry if he does not carry out a hit on Esther. Meanwhile, Fuches's unsuccessful attempt to replace Barry back in Cleveland has backfired spectacularly, causing him to get arrested. Unbeknownst to him, his DNA is matched to a missing tooth found at the scene of Pazar's murder. Loach, grief-stricken over the loss of Moss, discovers this and quickly connects Fuches to Barry, surmising that Barry is the man in the grainy lipstick camera footage.
10	2	"The Power of No"	Hiro Murai	Taofik Kolade	April 7, 2019 (2019-04-07)	0.424[18]
Hank enlists Barry to kill Esther, but Barry is reluctant to return to a life of killing. Gene, inspired by Barry's tale of his first kill, tasks the acting class with writing and performing a short piece that perfectly encapsulates their own personal truth. Barry, not wanting his "truth" to be death, convinces Gene to let him tell the story of the day they met. However, after attempting to reconnect with his estranged son Leo, an organic farmer, Gene realizes that he is too self-absorbed and tells Barry that he must tell the Afghanistan story. Sally has found minor success under her new agents, but becomes frustrated with the small and insignificant parts she keeps getting cast in. Her sole female agent, Lindsay, sympathizes and urges her to bide her time until the perfect role comes along. Loach tracks down Fuches in Ohio, and convinces him to return to Los Angeles and elicit a confession from Barry in order to keep himself out of jail. Barry finds himself unable to carry out the hit on Esther, and narrowly escapes from the furious Burmese mob. Barry finds Fuches waiting for him upon returning home, and angrily rebuffs him while a frustrated Loach watches from a surveillance van.
11	3	"Past = Present x Future Over Yesterday"	Minkie Spiro	Jason Kim	April 14, 2019 (2019-04-14)	1.78[19]
Sally has decided to tell the story of the night she left her abusive ex-husband, Sam, but is unable to confront the fact that she never stood up to him. Unwilling to come across as weak, she writes a version of the story that paints her in a stronger light. Hank attempts to kill Barry after finding out about the failed hit on Esther. However, his sniper misses several times and is shot in the shoulder by Barry, who is furious that they attacked his apartment while Sally was there. Hank, terrified of being sent back to Chechnya, urges Barry to just kill him. However, Barry offers instead to train the Chechen men so that Hank can take down the Burmese himself and return to his partnership with Cristobal while Barry's debt to Hank is paid. Barry decides to tell a different story about the war, in which he saved his friend Albert while serving in Korengal. However, he struggles with painting himself in a positive light, and laments the fact that he has no one to talk about his experiences with. Barry is once again approached by Fuches, but this time he welcomes him and asks for advice about how to tell the Korengal story. Fuches advises him against it, and the two have an emotional reconnection while an increasingly frustrated Loach looks on. At the acting class, Barry expresses reluctance at having to choke Sally while playing the role of her ex-husband. Sally and Gene berate him to try and get him in the right headspace, but Barry storms out. Sally follows and tries to reason with him, but quickly shuts down when she realizes her ex-husband Sam has shown up in L.A.
12	4	"What?!"	Liza Johnson	Duffy Boudreau	April 21, 2019 (2019-04-21)	1.94[20]
Barry and Sally go to dinner with Sam, where Barry is barely able to contain his rage towards the other man while Sally awkwardly tries to keep things civil. Barry later asks Sally why she was so welcoming to Sam, and she breaks down in his arms as she acknowledges that her scene is a lie and she didn't stand up to him, instead leaving him in the dead of night while he was asleep. Sally is distraught about potentially telling the truth about her relationship with Sam onstage, and Barry assures her that it's sometimes okay to keep secrets. Later, Barry sees that Sam has snuck into the theatre and witnessed Sally rehearsing the scene. Barry chases Sam back to his car, where a furious Sam insults Sally and drives away. Sally later gets a call from Sam, inviting her to come to his hotel so he can give her a gift. Against her better thoughts, she goes. Once there, Sam's nice-guy persona slowly breaks apart and he demands that Sally not do her scene in order to keep him from appearing in a bad light. Unbeknownst to them both, Barry has traveled to the hotel to kill Sam, resulting in him almost shooting Sally in the face when she opens the door to leave. Barry, ashamed and enraged at himself, goes to Gene's house and begs him for help. Barry opens up to Gene about Korengal, where he reveals that he unknowingly killed an innocent civilian instead of the gunman who shot his friend. Gene, shaken by Barry's confession, urges him not to repeat the story to the acting class and reassures him that people can change their nature, giving Barry hope for his future. An ecstatic Barry travels to Fuches's hotel to share what Gene told him, but Loach manages to get a confession from Barry while there. However, instead of charging and arresting him, Loach uses it to blackmail Barry into killing his ex-wife's new lover.
13	5	"ronny/lily"	Bill Hader	Alec Berg & Bill Hader	April 28, 2019 (2019-04-28)	2.03[21]
Barry finds Ronny, Loach's ex-wife's stoner lover, at his house and tries to negotiate a peaceful deal in which he doesn't have to kill anyone. However, while Ronny is packing to leave, Barry discovers he is a Taekwondo master, and the two battle until Ronny passes out from a busted windpipe. Ronny's daughter Lily, also proficient in Taekwondo, comes home and viciously attacks Barry before fleeing. Barry urges Fuches to drive him to a hospital to treat the stab wound Lily had inflicted on his back, but Fuches instead takes him to a drugstore and stitches Barry up himself, albeit poorly. Fuches, furious that Barry left Lily alive, drives around the neighborhood looking for her, but Barry refuses to kill her once they find her. Fuches attempts to kill her himself, but concludes that she can't be human after seeing her climb a tree and sit perched for hours on top of a roof. That night, Lily has still not descended from the roof and Fuches is getting impatient. Barry, who has been drifting in and out of consciousness throughout the day, awakens and immediately rips his stitches, causing Fuches to pour superglue in his wound. While this is happening, Lily sneaks into the backseat of the car and bites Fuches in the cheek. Fuches, unable to fight her off because he's glued his hands to the steering wheel, is forced to let her take a chunk out of his cheek and run off. Barry and Fuches return to the drugstore, where Barry finds Ronny alive and ready to attack again. Loach arrives and shoots Ronny, but Ronny kills him effortlessly before more police officers arrive and kill Ronny, giving Barry a chance to flee. As Barry approaches Fuches's car, he contemplates the nature of their relationship.
14	6	"The Truth Has a Ring to It"	Alec Berg	Emily Heller	May 5, 2019 (2019-05-05)	1.99[22]
Barry, infuriated that Fuches turned on him, breaks off their relationship for good and returns to acting class. Once there, he discovers that Sally has rewritten her scene to tell the truth about her relationship with Sam, but is mortified after doing a cold reading for the class. Barry asks for Gene's help, requesting that Gene help him perform well in Sally's scene in lieu of writing his own. Gene tells Barry to use his own story to find the emotion in Sally's. Onstage, Barry taps into his trauma over killing Detective Moss and delivers a spectacular performance, much to Gene's satisfaction. Lindsay, having witnessed the entire performance, offers to help Sally use it to branch out in her career. Meanwhile, Barry has finished training the Chechens, and Hank gives Barry a pin as a gift for having repaid his debt. Mayrbeck, a young Chechen, thanks Barry for giving him purpose and showing him how to be useful as a soldier. As Hank prepares to ambush Esther, he is surprised to find that his whole army has been captured after an accordion player he had previously insulted sold them out to Esther and Cristobal. Fuches, furious at Barry, begins to comb through the woods near Gene's cabin and eventually finds the car containing Moss's body.
15	7	"The Audition"	Alec Berg	Liz Sarnoff	May 12, 2019 (2019-05-12)	1.87[23]
Sally turns down the supposedly empowering TV role she is offered involving abused women killing their husbands that is little more than revenge porn. She is jealous when Barry, after being spotted in her agent's lobby, lands an audition for a lead role in a major feature film directed by Jay Roach. While Barry gets acting advice from Gene, Lindsay offers Sally the opportunity to have the acting class perform their scenes on a large stage in order to get Sally's story out into the world. After Hank's men escape a burning bus and a shootout with the Bolivians and Burmese, they abandon him due to his poor leadership choices and turn to Mayrbeck as a leader. When Gene does not show up for Barry's audition, Barry discovers that Fuches is posing as a private detective to lead Gene to Detective Moss's body. Barry underperforms in his audition, much to the intrigue of Roach, and leaves in a hurry. After hearing Gene explain how Barry was lost until he came to his class, an infuriated Fuches leads him to Moss's car. After popping the trunk and showing Moss's body to the distraught Gene, Fuches calls the police and confesses to murdering her, pretending to be Gene. Fuches then raises a gun to Gene's head while Barry races through the forest.
16	8	"berkman ﹥ block"	Bill Hader	Alec Berg & Bill Hader	May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19)	2.21[24]
Unable to bring himself to shoot Gene, Fuches whispers something to Gene and flees the scene. Barry and Gene are taken into custody. Barry is soon released, while Gene is arrested on suspicion of killing Janice. Barry calls Fuches and promises to kill him. Gene's students perform their scenes in a professional theatrical venue secured by Sally's agent, Lindsay. Sally changes her scene with Barry mid-performance, declaring to Sam, played by Barry, that they are finished before Sam can choke her, as originally scripted. Sally's performance is met with acclaim from the audience and Lindsay's colleagues, though the two of them are dismayed that they are getting attention from telling a lie. Meanwhile, NoHo Hank and the Chechens move into the Buddhist monastery, previously held by the Burmese mob, and arm themselves for an imminent fight with the Bolivians and the Burmese. Hank reaches out to Barry for help, but Barry refuses to come. Fuches, seeking protection from Barry, brokers a peace between all three gangs, bringing Hank and Cristobal back together in a tearful reunion. The police release Gene to Leo, his son, after finding Hank's Chechen pin near Moss's body, planted there by Barry. Barry attempts to call Gene but instead talks to Leo, who tells him of Gene's release. Barry tells Leo that Gene was right to say that people can change their nature. However, he gets a text from Hank almost immediately afterwards revealing Fuches's location. Barry travels to the monastery and kills nearly all of the gang members, including Esther and Mayrbeck, as he pursues Fuches, who successfully escapes. NoHo Hank's successor Batir, sent from Chechnya, finds Hank alive at the temple, and is pleased with him for killing Esther. Later that evening, Gene remembers Fuches whispering that Barry killed Moss.

Production[]

Development[]

On January 11, 2016, it was reported that HBO had given the production a pilot order, to be directed by Bill Hader who would also co-write and executive produce alongside Alec Berg.^[25] On June 2, 2016, it was reported that HBO had given the production a series order.^[8][26] On April 12, 2018, HBO renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on March 31, 2019.^[27][28] On April 10, 2019, HBO renewed the series for a third season which is scheduled to premiere on April 24, 2022.^[29][7]

Casting[]

Alongside the report of the pilot order, it was confirmed that Hader would star in the pilot.^[25] In February 2016, it was reported that Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan, Henry Winkler, and Stephen Root had been cast in lead roles in the series' pilot.^{[30][31][32][33][34]} For the third season, Sarah Burns was promoted to series regular after having a recurring role in the second season.^[7]

Filming[]

Principal photography for the first season began in 2017 in Los Angeles.^[8] The second season filmed from September 2018 to December 2018.^[35]

Production on the third season was shut down on March 18, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before a single episode had been shot. The cast had already gathered for table reads for the first two episodes when they were informed.^[36] In January 2021, Hader revealed that scripts for seasons 3 and 4 had been written.^[37] Filming for the third season began in August 2021.^[38]

Release[]

Marketing[]

On December 4, 2017, HBO released the first teaser trailer for the series.^[39][40] On January 9, 2018, HBO released the first official trailer for the series.^[41][42]

Premiere[]

On March 21, 2018, the series held its official premiere at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.^[43][44]

On April 28, 2018, episodes one through three were screened during the Series Mania Festival at the Le Majestic cinema in Lille, France. It appeared alongside seven other television programs in the festival's "Best of USA" series of shows.^[45][46]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Season		Critical response
		Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
	1	98% (82 reviews)	83 (28 reviews)
	2	100% (41 reviews)	87 (14 reviews)

Season 1[]

The first season of Barry received critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 98% "certified fresh" rating with an average rating of 8.10/10, based on 82 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "PTSD and comedy make strangely endearing bedfellows in Barry, which proves more poignant than its sketch show premise."^[47] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 83 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[48]

Season 2[]

The second season received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 100% "certified fresh" rating with an average rating of 8.65/10, based on 41 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Barry follows up a pitch-perfect debut with a second season that balances darkness with comedy while steering clear of antihero overindulgence."^[49] On Metacritic, the season has a score 87 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[50]

Ratings[]

Season 1[]

Viewership and ratings per episode of Barry

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Chapter One: Make Your Mark"	March 25, 2018	0.2	0.564[9]	N/A	0.538	N/A	1.103[51]
2	"Chapter Two: Use It"	April 1, 2018	0.2	0.641[10]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
3	"Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice"	April 8, 2018	0.2	0.595[11]	0.2	0.555	0.4	1.150[52]
4	"Chapter Four: Commit...To You"	April 15, 2018	0.2	0.511[12]	0.2	0.565	0.4	1.077[53]
5	"Chapter Five: Do Your Job"	April 22, 2018	0.2	0.643[13]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
6	"Chapter Six: Listen With Your Ears, React With Your Face"	April 29, 2018	0.2	0.560[14]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
7	"Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going"	May 6, 2018	0.2	0.636[15]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
8	"Chapter Eight: Know Your Truth"	May 13, 2018	0.2	0.548[16]	0.2	0.523	0.4	1.072[54]

Season 2[]

Viewership and ratings per episode of Barry

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"The Show Must Go On, Probably?"	March 31, 2019	0.2	0.532[17]	N/A	0.428	N/A	0.960[55]
2	"The Power of No"	April 7, 2019	0.2	0.424[18]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
3	"Past = Present x Future Over Yesterday"	April 14, 2019	0.7	1.78[19]	0.2	N/A	0.9[56]	N/A
4	"What?!"	April 21, 2019	0.8	1.94[20]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
5	"ronny/lily"	April 28, 2019	0.9	2.03[21]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
6	"The Truth Has a Ring to It"	May 5, 2019	0.8	1.99[22]	N/A	0.59	N/A	2.58[57]
7	"The Audition"	May 12, 2019	0.8	1.87[23]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
8	"berkman > block"	May 19, 2019	0.9	2.21[24]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Awards and nominations[]

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Comedy	Barry	Nominated	[58]
		Outstanding New Program	Barry	Nominated
		Individual Achievement in Comedy	Bill Hader	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series	Barry	Nominated	[59][60]
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Bill Hader	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Henry Winkler	Won
		Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series	Bill Hader (for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark")	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series	Alec Berg & Bill Hader (for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark")	Nominated
			Liz Sarnoff (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast And Keep Going")	Nominated
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series	Sharon Bialy & Sherry Thomas	Nominated	[59][61]
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour)	Paula Huidobro (for "Chapter Eight: Know Your Truth")	Nominated
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less)	Tyler B. Robinson, Eric Schoonover & Amber Haley (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast And Keep Going")	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series	Jeff Buchanan (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast And Keep Going")	Nominated
			Kyle Reiter (for "Chapter Eight: Know Your Truth")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation	Matthew E. Taylor, Sean Heissinger, Rickley W. Dumm, Michael Brake, Hilda Hodges & Rick Owens (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast And Keep Going")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation	Todd Beckett, Elmo Ponsdomenech & Benjamin Patrick (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast And Keep Going")	Won
	American Film Institute Awards	Top 10 TV Programs of the Year	Barry	Won	[62]
2019	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy	Barry	Nominated	[63]
		Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Bill Hader	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Henry Winkler	Nominated
	Dorian Awards	TV Comedy of the Year	Barry	Nominated	[64][65]
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Comedy Series	Barry	Nominated	[66]
		Best Actor in a Comedy Series	Bill Hader	Won
		Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Henry Winkler	Won
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Best Episodic Comedy	Alec Berg, Bill Hader, Aida Rodgers, Emily Heller & Liz Sarnoff	Nominated	[67]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Darrell Britt-Gibson, D'Arcy Carden, Andy Carey, Anthony Carrigan, Rightor Doyle, Glenn Fleshler, Alejandro Furth, Sarah Goldberg, Bill Hader, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paula Newsome, John Pirruccello, Stephen Root & Henry Winkler	Nominated	[68]
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Bill Hader	Nominated
			Henry Winkler	Nominated
	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Pilot & First Season — Comedy	Sherry Thomas, Sharon Bialy & Stacia Kimler (Associate)	Nominated	[69]
	American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards	Best Edited Comedy Series for Non-Commercial Television	Jeff Buchanan (for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark")	Nominated	[70]
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series	Bill Hader (for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark")	Won	[71]
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – Half Hour	Benjamin A. Patrick, Elmo Ponsdomenech, Todd Beckett, David Wingo, Aaron Hasson & John Sanacore (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going")	Nominated	[72]
	Golden Reel Awards	Broadcast Media: Live Action Under 35:00	TBA (for "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going")	Nominated	[73]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Television: Comedy Series	Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Liz Sarnoff, Ben Smith & Sarah Solemani	Nominated	[74]
		Television: New Series	Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Liz Sarnoff, Ben Smith & Sarah Solemani	Won
		Television: Episodic Comedy	Alec Berg & Bill Hader (for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark")	Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy	Barry	Nominated	[75][76]
		Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Bill Hader	Won
	Shorty Awards	Best TV Show	Barry	Nominated	[77]
	Peabody Awards	Entertainment honoree	Barry	Won	[78]
	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Comedy	Barry	Nominated	[79]
		Individual Achievement in Comedy	Bill Hader	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series	Barry	Nominated	[80][81]
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Bill Hader	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Anthony Carrigan	Nominated
			Stephen Root	Nominated
			Henry Winkler	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Sarah Goldberg	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series	Alec Berg (for "The Audition")	Nominated
			Bill Hader (for "ronny/lily")	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series	Alec Berg & Bill Hader (for "ronny/lily")	Nominated
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series	Sharon Bialy & Sherry Thomas	Nominated
		Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)	David Wingo (for "What?")	Nominated
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less)	Tyler B. Robinson, Eric Schoonover & Rachael Ferrara (for "ronny/lily")	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series	Jeff Buchanan (for "ronny/lily")	Nominated
			Kyle Reiter (for "berkman > block")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation	Matthew E. Taylor, Mark Allen, Rickley W. Dumm, John Creed, Harrison Meyle, Michael Brake, Clayton Weber, Alyson Dee Moore & Chris Moriana (for "ronny/lily")	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation	Jason "Frenchie" Gaya, Elmo Ponsdomenech, Aaron Hasson & Benjamin Patrick (for "ronny/lily")	Won
		Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety Program	Wade Allen	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Musical or Comedy Series	Barry	Nominated	[82]
		Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy	Bill Hader	Nominated
2020	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy	Barry	Nominated	[83]
		Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Bill Hader	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Henry Winkler	Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Comedy Series	Barry	Nominated	[84]
		Best Actor in a Comedy Series	Bill Hader	Won
		Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Anthony Carrigan	Nominated
			Henry Winkler	Nominated
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Best Episodic Comedy	Alec Berg, Bill Hader, Aida Rodgers, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Emily Heller, Julie Camino & Jason Kim	Nominated	[85]
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series	Bill Hader (for "ronny/lily")	Won	[86]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nikita Bogolyubov, Darrell Britt-Gibson, D'Arcy Carden, Andy Carey, Anthony Carrigan, Troy Caylak, Rightor Doyle, Patricia Fa'Asua, Alejandro Furth, Sarah Goldberg, Nick Gracer, Bill Hader, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Michael Irby, John Pirruccello, Stephen Root & Henry Winkler	Nominated	[87]
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Bill Hader	Nominated
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – Half Hour	Benjamin A. Patrick, Elmo Ponsdomenech, Jason "Frenchie" Gaya, Aaron Hasson & John Sanacore (for "ronny/lily")	Won[a]	[88]
	Casting Society of America	Television Series – Comedy	Sherry Thomas, Sharon Bialy & Stacia Kimler	Nominated	[88]
	Art Directors Guild Awards	Half-Hour Single-Camera Series	Tyler B. Robinson (for "ronny/lily")	Nominated	[89]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Television: Comedy Series	Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade & Elizabeth Sarnoff	Won	[90]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Barry (TV series)

• Official website
• Barry at IMDb