With such a widespread, multi-platform television landscape, it’s tougher than it used to be to name the best show on TV. There’s noSopranosorBreaking Badto point to as the de facto leader of the pack. In the tele-streaming-sphere right now,The BoysandThe Mandalorianare satisfying genre cravings in subversive style, whileEuphoriaandBetter Call Saulreflect the messiness of life through an unpredictable blend of comedy and tragedy. These are all strong contenders for the title of the best show on the air.
But, arguably, the one that clinches the title is the one that does all of those things at once. Bill Hader’s HBO hitBarryis a hysterical comedy, a harrowing drama, a subversive action thriller, and a mind-bending psychological horror series rolled into one indescribably astounding show.Hader is firing on all cylindersas a writer, director, and producer on top of being a series lead who can make the audience laugh and cry and stunned into a silence within a single half-hour episode.
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Perhaps the most incredible thing aboutBarry’s success, breaking new ground in an era of television that seemed to have no new ground left to break, is that it has no right to be as great as it is. The show is difficult to recommend to friends and loved ones because the elevator pitch sounds gimmicky. Hader stars as a cold-hearted assassin from Cleveland who stumbles into an L.A. acting class, discovers a passion for performing, and decides to give up contract killing to pursue a career as an actor. On paper, that premise doesn’t sound substantial enough to sustain a sketch, let alone an entire series, butBarryhas been universally praised by critics from the very beginning and it’s currently stronger than everin the midst of its third season. So, what’s the secret?
The Hitman-Turned-Actor Show Takes The Hitman-Turned-Actor Seriously
The genius ofBarryis that Hader and co-creator Alec Berg take the story and the title character seriously. The show is a much deeper psychological study than its hitman-turned-actor logline would suggest. The writers have plumbed the depths ofBarry’s dark, broken, dangerously fragile souland found surprisingly poignant parallels between contract killing and acting. Initially, Hader and Berg set up a standard arc in which a killer learns to be a better person and stops killing.
ButBarry’s storytelling has completely subverted expectations by doubling down on the character’s irredeemability. The more self-aware Barry becomes, the more murderous and monstrous he becomes. His guilt manifests itself as self-loathing, but it never creates any real change – it just sends himfurther down the psychopathic rabbit hole. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The thing that makesBarrytruly great isn’t its ability to dig deeper into its antihero’s darkness than any other show on TV; it’s Hader and Berg’s ability to get huge laughs at the same time.
In exploring both the comical and grisly sides of its premise,Barryhas struck a wholly unique tone in a TV landscape full of derivative knockoffs intent on replicating the success of previous shows.Barrymanages to be both shocking and hilarious at the same time in a near-impossible tonal balancing act. It hasBreaking Bad-level intensity andOffice-style deadpan humor, often simultaneously. The show has its cake and eats it, too. Its satire and juxtapositions areas rich asGrosse Pointe Blank, but the hitman action is still just as visceral and engaging asJohn Wick.
Barry Has No Safety Net Or Plot Armor
Above all, what keeps fans coming back to devour each new episode ofBarryevery week is that the show is totally unpredictable. In an age of storytelling that tends to play it safe to keep franchises going with sequels and spin-offs, this is a show that has no safety net or plot armor. The stakes are constantly being raised, the characters are always in grave danger, and anything is possible. Every episode could take a very dark turn at any moment. The show about a hitman who wants to be an actor was expected to be one-note and paper-thin, but the end result is anything but.
Much like a certain story abouta chemistry teacher who becomes a drug lord, Hader and Berg are using a pulpy high-concept crime premise as a lens to explore the human condition.Barrydeals with lofty philosophical issues and explores the morality of killing on a Shakespearean level. The show’s latest season is digging into the notion that anybody can be forgiven and whether or not that’s actually true when it comes to an odd case like Barry. This isn’t justany old TV comedy; this is a new breed of storytelling.
Barry’s third season is currently airing on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
