One Of TV’s Best Thrillers Comes To An End Next Month

2023 sees a number of big-name shows releasing their final season, like Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and HBO’s Succession – and another series we’re saying goodbye to is the brilliant Barry, which is getting its fourth season on HBO in April. Starring Bill Hader, Sarah Goldberg and Henry Winkler, Barry follows a depressed hitman who moves to LA and realises that his true calling is in acting, and it’s quietly become one of TV’s best shows.
The dramedy began back in 2018, and saw the normally very comedic Hader embrace a much more dramatic role to critical acclaim, bagging two Emmys for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Despite not being as widely talked about as Succession or House of the Dragon, Barry gathered a strong following and is worth the watch if you’ve not seen its first three seasons. For those of you who have, season four looks to be darker and more emotional than what we’ve seen so far, while still retaining the more darkly comedic moments. The hitman from Ohio is now in prison following the events of Season 3’s finale, in which the final moments saw Barry arrested by the LAPD in part thanks to the deception of his acting coach Gene (Winkler), who had been trying to get Barry and his dangerous ways out of his life.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xW7Ld5iwRnQ
So what happens next? Unfortunately for those of us seeking immediate answers, Hader, who’s the co-creator and writer of the show, is remaining tight lipped on what to expect. What he does hint is that it’s not as simple as Barry heading to prison and that being that: “I love true-crime stuff, so this is just the part where it’s like: And then he got caught, and then this happened…” he teased to the Hollywood Reporter. What he’s more open about is what’s happening with the characters other than our main struggling protagonist. Season 3’s finale also saw two characters commit murder for the first time: Sally, Barry’s on off girlfriend who he has a complicated relationship with, and Hank, who despite being a monster has never directly killed someone. These killings play into the show’s idea that while Barry might be trying to find redemption and move away from his past, those around him are increasingly being pulled into his murderous world- they’ve caught “Barry’s disease”, as Hader puts it.


So will Barry end up escaping prison? Will those around him become just as bad as he is? And what will happen to Gene after his pretty drastic deception? Only the show’s final episodes have the answers, and they’ll begin airing on Sky Atlantic in the U.K. at some point in April, if not the same day as in the US.
Looking for another murderous drama to get into? Donald Glover’s new series Swarm has just arrived on Amazon.