User reviews

When I first read the description of Barry, I immediately dismissed the show as being either too high concept or too gimmicky to be fun. I was wrong. Not only is this show a total hidden gem, but it contains some of the funniest and most morally complex characters on TV.

From the start, Barry gets almost everything right. The writing is caustic and funny, always delivered with both heartfelt sincerity and a darkly funny edge (you have to look no further than the character of Noho Hank to see where the soul of the show lies). The violence is frequently punchy and always well done, sometimes quite shocking in it's unexpectedness. The performances across the board are stellar, especially from Winkler, Hader, Carrigan and Root, who all play extremely eccentric men who's goals come at odds.

All that being said, I think it's imperative for more people to watch this show. This is "peak TV". Like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, Barry portrays a conflicted character with depth and surprising beauty. Don't miss out on it.

Barry is absolutely deserving of all the praise it gets and Bill Hader is excellent in this! This show has everything in it...comedy, drama, action, suspense, etc, etc. I promise you will not be disappointed once you start watching it!

Barry is just as good as everyone says it is. Bill Hader is amazing in this in a career defining role. In fact, the entire cast is amazing. It has been nominated and won so many awards it's hard to keep track of and every one of them has been deserving. It follows a depressed hitman named Barry (Bill Hader) who's looking for a way out of the business. He travels to L. A. to kill actor but falls in love with the city. He gets involved with an acting class and instantly loves it and wants to become an actor. He meets and falls for his girlfriend, Sally (Sarah Goldberg), there. He wants to become an actor but his old handler, Fuchs, won't let him walk away. Besides Hader and Goldberg, it stars Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan, Stephen Root and more. I don't know what else I can say about this incredible show that hasn't already been said. Just go watch for yourself!

HBO's hottest show is "BARRY". Former SNL member and current boyfriend of the internet, Bill Hader, has gone ALL OUT. This show has everything! Depression, ptsd, a morally conflicted hit-man, and if that's not funny enough, just wait till episode 7!

Okay, but seriously, this is an amazing show. Really well written and acted. The shifts from comedy to drama are so intense! I love how the mob guys are written, especially noho hank and the humour that character brings. I love how all of Barry's actions are in-line with his character and what we know about him so far. This show is so good. I am forcing everyone I know to watch.

I agree with everything good said about this black comedy and can only emphatically add that the Chechen gang is exquisitely crafted and hilarious. Perhaps the most extraordinary character, the bald Noho ("Can I get you a submarine sandwich?"), is unforgettable. Just a brilliant performance. The ridiculous twins, one who is obsessed with killing Barry and then his tortuous brother who insists on building a set of stocks, are wonderfully absurd.

This show reminds me a little of how Bojack Horseman is structured in a good way. With being all happy and go lucky until it stops on a dime and becomes an insane tense filled show all because the main character is a "good guy" that's really an jerk. Now that since Bojack is one my favorite show that's a great compliment from me but Barry also does its own thing.

The cast of Barry are all great to Sally, Bill Dautrive (Fuches), Gene, and of course Noho-Hank. All of these characters are amazing and unique in their own way but all helping to propel the story of Barry. Barry at first just seems like a random assassin to be watching but as the show progress you just watch his slow descent into madness as he desperately clings to his newfound life but the old just right behind . I don't want to get to specifics but these moment do come around in absolute tense moments that just make you loose it. Cant wait for season 4.

Having just finished Chapter 7, and realizing that I have to wait for the finale just like the rest of you, I decided to give a reason as to why you should be watching. The film major in me sees the inevitable gold mine of information that this show is. Berg and Hader have began crafting an amazing world with this show. There isn't a single character that feels out of place. Barry has this incredibly relatable motivation of 'What am I doing with my life?" Yet it is portrayed in a way that pulls you away from the dogged question in reality. Barry is the epitome of dark comedy, you'll laugh hard with one breath and gut wrench in the next. There is no action that does not have a consequence, the conflicts that arise only resolve in more conflict. The actors acting as actors learning to act is sublime. I could go for days about why Barry is a new staple for HBO, but I suggest you watch it and see for yourself. If you're studying film/script-writing/acting you need to add this to your watch list, it's a goldmine of skills.

It has got all emotions covered - drama, thrill, romance etc. And is Comic with a capital C. All actors play their respective part very well and writing with direction is amazing.

Deserves more popularity and seasons.

Should be watched.

Sometimes you watch a show and it's like everything about it just works and that is the case with Barry. The acting is outstanding all the way around. Congratulations to Bill Hader for making every scene he is in perfection. I love all the characters really and could go on and on but I want to just mention Henry Winkler. What a great role for him! Fantastic character and I would watch the show just to see more of Gene if I didn't love everyone else too. Mostly spectacular writing though. The writers killed it on this show (pun intended). Congratulations to everyone.

Barry's excellent first season deftly blends comedy with very dark material, avoiding the usual clichés or owning up to them in creative and fresh ways. The acting is excellent all-round with no one to single out as being too good or bad. The second season continues much in the same vein, but the material is already suffering. The original premise is being milked too hard and loses some luster and charm, but it is still quite fun and better than many of the shows out there. Then comes the third season, and I think the whole creative team completely messes up. They knew they cannot keep doing the same thing three seasons in a row, but they couldn't quite decide what it is they are doing.

Consequently, we get a season that is not very funny but is often so dark and severe that it seems entirely out of place with the previous ones. The actors are still excellent, and even the material is not bad, often it wouldn't be out of place in a psychological horror, but somehow the Barryness of it all is lost, and we are left with stark, barren characters, monsters of their own making inhabiting a cruel and profoundly unfunny world. This can be good stuff, but it's not Barry.

Premise : An mercenary for hire wants to become an actor

Barry is a well made dark comedy and some may not like it but overall it is one of the best in that genre. I felt S03 to be a bit laggy in the beginning but the ending made up to it. Other streaming sites should learn from HBO on selecting content for a series.

Barry had me on the fence the entire series and they ultimately dropped the ball at the end. The final season felt like it was meant to be 2 seasons but HBO was becoming MAX and just wanted to end it or something. It came to an okay conclusion, but it sprinted to that finish line. The 30 minute episodes are great at first, but by the last season they just leave you unfulfilled. The dry humor was the saving grave of the show, and often clever twists and turns. There's a major twist at the end of the series that appeared to have been set up the entire time only for it to be glossed over. Great performances, okay series.

It's hard to understand how a show like this manages to be funny and emotionally satisfying, within it's short episode spans of 25-30 mins. It's even harder to understand how come this isn't that popular.

Writing, direction, acting and at times, soundtrack is all top notch. Bill Hader is terrifyingly good throughout. I don't want this review to be long, but just want to add that it's probably one of THE best shows running in right now.

Bill Hader really showed his chops in this episode but I have to say that Chris Marquette as Chris Lucado, stole the scene! His freak out in the car was amazing! Why this actor doesn't have more top movie/tv roles I don't know. This episode was the best of them all!

I felt like I was watching Bill Hader win an Emmy in real time. Absolutely loved it!

This is a great show I highly recommend it. Barry has drama, action, thrill, and lots of laughs. Like I said, if you enjoy well timed comic relief this is the show for you. Also, Bill Haders performance is perfect and I can't imagine anyone else in this role.

This is the first review I've written for imdb despite using the site for years. The reason? This show. I loved it. I feel like it's a show that might fly under the radar and get missed by many people who would love it.

Bill Hader is excellent in it. I have a whole new respect for him as an actor. The supporting cast is just as fantastic. Henry Winkler plays his role perfect. My favorite though, is Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank. He provides comic relief in a way that hits my sense of humor dead on. I hope to see more of him in this show and future roles.

Give this show a try. I seem some reviews comment on episode 7, and I agree that episode brings the show to the next level for me. I'm writing this just after I watched that episode. I loved it long before this episode, but if it hasn't got you fully hooked after a few, hold on until then.

Currently up to episode 2 of season 2, so this review is based on what I've seen so far.

I've read so many rave reviews about this show but was hesitant to watch it because usually when things are hyped up so much they disappoint me. This one is good, I'm really enjoying it. But do I think it's amazing and worth 10 stars? Not quite.

The short episodes are an easy watch, the dark comedy is quite good. I giggle out loud sometimes but I've never had a belly laugh or anything. Hank is definitely the best character to watch. The actor plays him so well. Gene is a close second.

There's some action and dark moments which I also enjoy, it's a good mix. Acting is decent. Looking forward to watching more. If you like Fargo, Mr Inbetween (the superior hitman show it you ask me) and Atlanta you'll like this!

Edited after finishing to go from a 7 to an 8. I did end up laughing out loud, crying out loud and gasping out loud! Great show that will be missed.

Two great seasons with interesting story and great characters. 10/10 Then everything becomes stupid. Characters, behaviours, acting. Everything becomes 1/10. And I don't understand why...

I just finished binge watching season one of Barry. Short episodes you can't get enough of. It would be a total disappointment if there would be not more seasons of this show. It's the perfect mix between crime and comedy. The humor is very subtle, almost like they don't do it on purpose to be funny, but they certainly are. Bill Hader as Barry has one of those faces and expressions that makes him naturally funny. But not only him, but the whole cast was funny. Stephen Root, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan, Paula Newsome, Henry Winkler and Sarah Goldberg all add something funny and special to this show. The story is well brought and entertaining. I really can't wait for more seasons of Barry.

It started well and was original, pulling off a conceit which might well have been thought impossible to pull off. I looked forward to the second series and even the third (and even the fourth). But I have to report that in the fourth, Barry just lost it, lost its way, lost everything.

The first season would have got an 8/10, the second 7/10, but overall - well, it's a real dilemma. I'll be generous: 6/10. But that is for overall. For all its misfiring in many directions season four would get no more than a 4/10. And that is generous.

What went wrong? I suspect success did for Barry. I read somewhere that Alex Berg, Bill Hader's writing partner - Hader also starred in Barry and directed many of the episodes, most of the fourth season, in fact - asked Hader whether he thought it would be possible to write a comedy about a murderer.

'Yes,' Hader said he had replied, 'if I star in it.'

Well, in the first season, Berg and Hader did pull it off, against all possible odds. Even the cold-blooded murders we were shown were somehow not at all shocking.

So the series was renewed and Berg and Hader pulled it off again in the second. Another renewal, but by then the 'conceit was wearing thin, storylines became forced and the 'humour' was far less on show.

Then came the fourth season and it was obvious Barry had gone two season too far. I have no idea how much Berg was involved by this point, but the writers had so obviously run out of ideas and could no longer stretch the central conceit any further.

The solution was to wrap up the story, somehow, but it is obvious to me they simply could not find a way.

Almost all of the fourth season completely lacked any resemblance to the first two seasons, except for the main characters. It made no sense, not even in the 'nonsensical' way it had previously managed.

It even struck me that Hader had decided to make the show 'serious'. Fair enough, but why? Such a development would have had to have been organic. As it was it was somehow grafted on to the body of work. And, to use that word again, it did not work, not at all, not in the slightest.

Oh well. If anyone is reading this review and hasn't seen any of Barry, my advice is watch the first two seasons, enjoy them and then walk away. I wish I had.

Mention should got to Hader as the central character, Sarah Goldberg, Henry Winkler and Stephen Root. All are excellent in the first two seasons and do their very best - as I say against the odds in season three and four.

Shame about it all, really, but there you go.

It's an odd mix. Many dramatic and comedic scenes intertwined but sometimes the flow suffers. It's a show about redemption that is always just one step away. I'm a big fan of the general concept (hitman that wants af fresh start). The Sally character stifles the show and sucks the life out of every scene. Just expect in her scenes that everything is about her getting what she needs. The supporting work is exceptional. Winkler is amazing as are Root and Carrigan as Noho Hank. Actually, It could have been great without the entire Sally character. I'm not trying to dismiss the straight forward delivery of abusive relationships but it seems awkward at times when only 20 seconds after a prank time laugh. The Sally role is exhausting to watch as it's painfully predictable. Any time something doesn't go her way, there will be 4 minutes of ranting, that are completed wasted on me. Thank goodness for the other storylines.

Barry is a great show, the characters are really good and all contribute to the show even though their characters are strong with their own story. Noho Hank is a really good character and the acting is great throughout. I would have given it 10 stars if it wasn't for season 4.

Seasons one and two drew me in because of the humour - a hit man enrolls in an acting class. The very premise itself is ludicrous but due to the great acting and script it works. Season 4 however, has none of the humour and Barry's likeability is gone. The period when he's in hiding with Sally is drawn out for too long and becomes boring.

I even started fast forwarding through little sections.

Losing the humour means the essence of what made seasons 1 and 2 so good, is gone. And the ending is sad. Season 4 is a drama but not a very good one.

I was on the fence after the first episode of Barry, which was quirky and amusing but didn't quite grab me. But my girlfriend insisted we watch a second episode, and then I got hooked.

The series involves a hit man who starts taking acting classes from Henry Winkler, and deals with the conflict between those two lives. The actors who portrays students are impressively able to give various levels of performances based on teacher feedback (Sarah Goldberg is especially good, and makes me understand the acting process a little better).

Bill Hader is excellent in the lead, but the standout comedic performance is Anthony Carrigan as a quirky, cue-ball-headed criminal. I'm ready for him to get a spin-off series.

A warning about Barry. The series is often hilariously funny, but it's also dark. And towards the end it gets really, really dark. The last couple of episodes of season 1 are rather upsetting. So prepare yourself.

UPDATE: season 2 was also good but for darker and darker. By season 3 it seemed to be a lot of horrific and very little actual comedy and my girlfriend and I stopped watching.