Introduction

Barry is an American dark comedy-crime television series created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader that premiered on HBO on 25 March 2018.

Hader stars as Barry Berkman, a former US Marine and 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).

Outline

Barry follows Barry Berkman, a former 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. theatre scene”.

Cast

• Main:
  • Bill Hader as Barry Berkman/Barry Block, a depressed US Marine and Afghanistan veteran turned low-level hitman who finds himself drawn towards human connection among a community of aspiring actors. A mentally unstable yet exceptional assassin, 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. The character’s struggle with anxiety in a profession he is gifted in was inspired by Hader’s tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
  • 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, manipulative, and self-centred, refusing to believe he’s been anything but good to Barry, despite consistently abusing him whilst dragging his protégé 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 and talented but struggling actress from Joplin, Missouri in Barry’s acting class who becomes romantically involved with him to dysfunctional results. Seemingly good-natured but extremely selfish and envious, Sally is focused on becoming a famous actress while frequently alternating between bouts of narcissism and self-hatred as both a person and an artist.
  • Glenn Fleshler as Goran Pazar (season 1, guest season 3), the leader of the Chechen mafia who employs Barry to kill a man who has been sleeping with his wife.
  • Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank, an effusively positive and naïve member of the Chechen mafia and Goran’s right-hand man. Hank quickly becomes attached to Barry, who does not reciprocate his attempts at friendship. He later becomes the leader of the Chechen mafia himself, but struggles with the responsibility of running an organised crime ring when he is not an inherently violent person. Originally planned to die in the pilot, Carrigan’s performance impressed the show’s creators enough that his character was spared and made a series regular.
  • Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau, an eccentric acting coach and Barry’s mentor, whose glory days as a performer are long behind him, having alienated his industry colleagues and loved ones. Cousineau is incredibly self-obsessed, and rarely seems to help out his students unless there is something of value in it for him. Despite this, Gene makes a connection with and serves as a father figure to Barry, helping him come to terms with some of the atrocities he has committed throughout his life.
  • Sarah Burns as Detective Mae Dunn (season 3-present; recurring season 2), A naïve and obtuse investigator who becomes Loach’s partner.

• Recurring:
  • Paula Newsome as Detective Janice Moss (season 1; guest season 2), a police officer investigating the murder of Ryan Madison.
  • John Pirruccello as Detective John Loach (seasons 1-2), Moss’s perpetually depressed partner who later finds himself investigating Barry.
  • Michael Irby as Cristobal Sifuentes, the leader of the Bolivian mafia, and later Hank’s love interest.
  • D’Arcy Carden as Natalie Greer, an actress and Sally’s friend. Natalie often serves as Cousineau’s personal assistant during acting class, and later becomes Sally’s assistant on her television series.
  • Gary Kraus as Chief Krauss, the chief of police, nicknamed the ‘Big Cat’.
  • Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Sasha Baxter (seasons 1-2), a British actress in Cousineau’s acting class.
  • Darrell Britt-Gibson as Jermaine Jefrint, an actor in Cousineau’s acting class.
  • Andy Carey as Eric (seasons 1-2), an actor in Cousineau’s class with a proclivity for slam poetry and rap, neither of which he has any talent for.
  • Alejandro Furth as Antonio Manuel (seasons 1-2), a Puerto Rican actor in Cousineau’s class.
  • Rightor Doyle as Nick Nicholby, a flamboyantly gay actor in Cousineau’s class.
  • Mark Ivanir as Vacha/Ruslan (season 1, guest season 3), twin brothers and Chechen assassins working for Goran. Ruslan is a sadistic and skilled torturer but considered overly theatrical and irritating by his colleagues.
  • Chris Marquette as Chris Lucado (season 1, guest season 3), a former Marine logistics officer and one of Barry’s only friends.
  • Karen David as Sharon Lucado (seasons 1, 3), Chris’ wife.
  • Dale Pavinski as Taylor Garrett (season 1), a former soldier and one of Chris’ friends.
  • Marcus Brown as Vaughn (season 1), a former soldier and Chris and Taylor’s friend.
  • Robert Curtis Brown as Mike Hallman (season 1), a talent agent who helps Sally book acting auditions.
  • Cameron Britton as Simmer (season 1).
  • Jessy Hodges as Lindsay Mandel (seasons 2-3), Sally’s agent.
  • Nikita Bogolyubov as Mayrbek (season 2, guest season 3), a star pupil of the new Chechen army and Barry’s protégé, earning him the nickname “Baby Barry”.
  • Troy Caylak as Akhmal (seasons 2-3), a member of the Chechen mafia who often serves as Hank’s right-hand man.
  • JB Blanc as Batir (seasons 2-3), a Chechen mobster and Hank’s immediate boss.
  • Nick Gracer as Yandal (seasons 2-3), a member of the Chechen mafia
  • James Hiroyuki Liao as Albert Nguyen (seasons 2-3), a former Marine who served alongside Barry. He later arrives in LA to help investigate Moss’ death as an FBI agent.
  • Andrew Leeds as Leo Cousineau (seasons 2-3), Gene’s estranged son and an organic farmer.
  • Patricia Fa’asua as Esther (season 2, guest season 3), the Burmese gang leader.
  • Elizabeth Perkins as Diane Villa (season 3), a major TV producer and head of streaming service BanShe.
  • Elsie Fisher as Katie (season 3), a teenage actress playing the role of Chloe in Sally’s TV series Joplin
  • Miguel Sandoval as Fernando (season 3), the head of the Bolivian mafia and Cristobal’s father-in-law.
  • Eli Michael Kaplan as Gordon Cousineau (season 3), Gene’s grandson and Leo’s son.
  • Laura San Giacomo as Annie (season 3), a theatre director and Gene’s ex-girlfriend.
  • Fred Melamed as Tom Posorro (season 3), Gene’s agent.
  • Robert Wisdom as Jim Moss (season 3), Janice’s father.
  • Jolene Van Vugt as Traci (season 3), Taylor’s sister.

• Guest:
  • Tyler Jacob Moore as Ryan Madison, an actor in Gene’s class that Barry is hired to kill (“Chapter One: Make Your Mark“).
  • Melissa Villaseñor as a diner waitress aspiring to be an actress (“Chapter One: Make Your Mark”).
  • Larry Hankin as Stovka, a renowned Chechen assassin (“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, a deadly mixed martial artist that Barry is hired to kill (“ronny/lily“).
  • Jessie Giacomazzi as Lily Proxin, Ronny’s daughter who is also skilled in martial arts (“ronny/lily”).
  • Jay Roach as himself (“The Audition“).
  • Allison Jones as herself (“The Audition”, “limonada”).
  • Mark-Paul Gosselaar as himself, the star of Laws of Humanity (“ben mendelsohn”).
  • Annabeth Gish as Julie, the widow of one of Barry’s victims (“all the sauces”, “crazytimeshtshow”) Joe Mantegna as himself (“all the sauces”, “crazytimeshtshow”).
  • Krizia Bajos as Elena, Fernando’s daughter and Cristobal’s wife (“crazytimesh*tshow”, “starting now”).
  • Vanessa Bayer as Morgan Dawn-Cherry, a BanShe executive who offers Sally a writer’s room job (“710N”).

Production

Development

• On 11 January 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.
• On 02 June 2016, it was reported that HBO had given the production a series order.
• On 12 April 2018, HBO renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on 31 March 2019.
• On 10 April 2019, HBO renewed the series for a third season which premiered on 24 April 2022.
• On May 19, 2022, HBO renewed the series for an eight-episode fourth season with Hader directing all eight episodes.

Casting

Alongside the report of the pilot order, it was confirmed that Hader would star in the pilot. 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.

Filming

Principal photography for the first season began in 2017 in Los Angeles.

Production on the third season was shut down on 18 March 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.

Release

Marketing

On 04 December 2017, HBO released the first teaser trailer for the series. On 09 January 2018, HBO released the first official trailer for the series.

Premiere

On 21 March 2018, the series held its official premiere at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.

On 28 April 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 programmes in the festival’s “Best of USA” series of shows.

Trivia

• Barry has received critical acclaim, with most praise going to its writing, humor, characters, and performances (particularly Hader 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.

Barry Series

• Series 01 (2018).
• Series 02 (2019).
• Series 03 (2022).
• Series 04 (?2023).

Production & Filming Details

• Creator(s):
  • Alec Berg
  • Bill Hader.
• Director(s):
  • Bill Hader … (10 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Alec Berg … (7 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Hiro Murai … (4 episodes, 2018-2019).
  • Maggie Carey … (1 episode, 2018).
  • Liza Johnson … (1 episode, 2019).
  • Minkie Spiro … (1 episode, 2019).
• Producer(s):
  • Alec Berg … executive producer / executive producer (25 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Bill Hader … executive producer (24 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Emily Heller … producer / supervising producer (24 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Aida Rodgers … co-executive producer / executive producer / producer / producer (24 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Elizabeth Sarnoff … consulting producer / executive producer (24 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Amy Solomon … co-producer / associate producer (24 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Julie Camino … producer / producer (16 episodes, 2019-2022).
  • Jason Kim … producer / supervising producer (16 episodes, 2019-2022).
  • Arturs Rusis … co-producer (16 episodes, 2019-2022).
  • Kris Baucom … co-producer (8 episodes, 2018).
  • Ben Smith … co-producer (8 episodes, 2018).
  • Davin Michaels … associate producer (8 episodes, 2019).
  • Duffy Boudreau … producer (8 episodes, 2022).
  • John T. McCracken … associate producer (8 episodes, 2022).
  • Sarah Solemani … co-producer (4 episodes, 2018).
  • Megan Murphy … co-producer (1 episode, 2018).
  • Johnnie Brady … producer (1 episode, 2019).
• Writer(s):
  • Alec Berg … (written by) (9 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Bill Hader … (written by) (9 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Duffy Boudreau … (executive story editor) (7 episodes, 2018).
  • Duffy Boudreau … (written by) (3 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Taofik Kolade … (executive story editor) (8 episodes, 2019).
  • Taofik Kolade … (written by) (1 episode, 2019).
  • Emma Barrie … (executive story editor) (8 episodes, 2022).
  • Emma Barrie … (written by) (1 episode, 2022).
  • Emily Heller … (written by) (3 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Elizabeth Sarnoff … (written by) (3 episodes, 2018-2022).
  • Jason Kim … (written by) (2 episodes, 2019-2022).
  • Ben Smith … (written by) (1 episode, 2018).
  • Sarah Solemani … (written by) (1 episode, 2018).
  • Nicky Hirschhorn … (staff writer) (1 episode, 2022).
• Music:
  • Charles Bradley (‘Change for the World’, opening theme).
  • David Wingo (composer) (23 episodes, 2018-2022).
• Cinematography:
  • Paula Huidobro … (16 episodes, 2018-2019).
  • Carl Herse … (5 episodes, 2022).
  • Darran Tiernan … (3 episodes, 2022).
  • Brandon Trost … (1 episode, 2018).
• Editor(s):
  • Jeff Buchanan … (8 episodes, 2018-2019).
  • Kyle Reiter … (8 episodes, 2018-2019).
  • Ali Greer … (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Franky Guttman … (4 episodes, 2022).
• Production:
  • Alec Berg Productions (as Alec Berg Inc.).
  • Hanarply.
• Distributor(s):
  • Home Box Office (HBO) (2018-) (USA) (TV).
  • Amediateka (2018) (Russia) (TV).
  • British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) (2018-) (UK) (TV) (Sky Atlantic).
  • Dizimax Comedy (2018-) (Turkey) (TV).
  • HBO España (2018-) (Spain) (TV).
  • HBO Home Entertainment (2018) (USA) (DVD) (season 1).
  • HBO Max (2020) (USA) (video) (VOD).
  • Kino1Tv (2018) (Russia) (TV).
  • OKKO (2018) (Russia) (TV).
  • Sky Atlantic HD (2018-) (Germany) (TV).
  • Trikolor (2018) (Russia) (TV).
  • Wink (2018) (Russia) (TV).
  • Ziggo Movies & Series XL (2018-) (Netherlands) (video) (VOD).
• Release Date:
  • Series 01: 25 March 2018 to 13 May 2018.
  • Series 02: 31 March 2019 to 19 May 2019.
  • Series 03: 24 April 2022 to 12 June 2022.
    Series 04: ?2023.
• Running time: 26-35 minutes (per episode).
• Rating: TV-MA.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)