In the spring of 2020, during the earliest stages of the pandemic, production on the third season of “Barry” was halted before it could even begin. But co-creators Bill Hader and Alec Berg — along with the writing team on the dark HBO comedy — would soon put that time to good use. They wrote the fourth season of “Barry” and then went back and rewrote the third of the series, which hadn’t started filming yet.
As Hader and Berg wrote Season 4, they began to realize that “there was a very clear ending in store,” Hader said in an interview with Variety last week. April 16 marks the premiere of the final eight-episode season of “Barry,” and Variety has the exclusive opportunity to announce the date, revealing its first teaser and first look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW7Ld5iwRnQ
The teaser shows the aftermath of the Season 3 finale, starring Hader as Barry Berkman — an Ohio hitman who comes to Los Angeles for a job but eventually seeks redemption after finding community in an acting class — now in prison, thanks his former drama teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler).
Even after Hader came up with the idea for the ending of “Barry,” he said during that time he would think, “But we’re having such a good time on this!” Hader, the “Barry” creative team, and HBO certainly have many reasons to keep the show going. Season 3 of “Barry” premiered in April last year to rave reviews and overall the show was nominated for 44 Emmys and won nine. Hader has won two of those Emmys for playing the title character — and just last month he picked up another DGA award for directing the Season 3 episode “710N.”
Hader didn’t want to say goodbye prematurely to a show that had formed a community of its own since HBO first picked it up in 2016 (“Barry” premiered on March 25, 2018). “We didn’t want to admit it to each other, you know what I mean?” Hader said.
And so, Hader says, he didn’t break the news to Amy Gravitt, who had worked with him since the beginning of Barry as executive vice president of HBO’s comedy program, until Season 4 began filming last summer. “I have a feeling the story will naturally end after Season 4,” he recalled after telling her – mimicking Gravitt’s agonized sigh as he heard the news.
Gravitt said she still implicitly trusts Hader’s judgment. “Every decision he made in terms of story or switching between seasons made sense — so I had to go with his gut,” she said. “Obviously we’re feeling sentimental now that we’re here. But it really feels like it’s the right time to end the show.”
In the teaser, Barry, who was arrested in the Season 3 finale, is imprisoned. The clip is set to the Walker Brothers’ song “After the Lights Go Out” and begins with Barry in prison making a series of phone calls. His former friend and mentor Cousineau says meaningfully, “Hey Barry – I got you.” Then, seemingly hallucinating, Barry imagines in the prison yard meeting his ex-girlfriend Sally (Sarah Goldberg), Gene, and his hitman Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root) walking right past him. As the teaser continues and gathers momentum, we see a worried-looking Sally stepping onto a set, Barry banging his head against a wall, Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan) walking purposefully, Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom) turning Gene in his is approaching the dressing room, Fuches grinning – and Gene looking scared and holding a gun.
With a battered face, Barry growls into the phone, “So God help me, when I get out of here I’ll come get you.” Is he talking to Hank? To Jim? To genes? Fox? We’ll start figuring out the answer on April 16th.
Gravitt hated spoilers but said of the ending of “Barry”: “I used the word ‘satisfactory’ a lot.”
In his only interview announcing the final season, Hader spoke about what led to his decision to end “Barry,” why he directed the entire fourth season, if Barry Berkman can ever be redeemed — and why the Show “life changing” was experience.”
You just told me that “a very clear ending presented itself” to conclude the story of “Barry”. So you and the authors approached it?
Yes! It was very much about writing and storytelling. I mean, a lot of people after the last season said, “Why are you doing another season? It should have just ended.”
But for me there are still so many questions about the other characters and about Barry – and there are so many things left unsaid. What’s happening in Season 4 is structurally radical in a way, but it made sense of what I felt the characters had to go through and what I felt the whole show is always heading towards.
You know, well, we could fill a lot of stuff and just do a story. But if we go ahead, it ends in Season 4.
You said you went back and rewrote Season 3 – Season 3 was pretty dark. What did you rewrite?
Well, season 3 was always pretty dark. In fact, it was darker in places, and we cut it back! I think of course the show is going to get darker because of what’s happening with the characters and people know this thing that Barry is hiding. This whole show was about him trying to better himself and change. And I think a lot of people — maybe we too — thought, ‘Oh, that’s going to happen.’ And then as you write it you’re like, ‘Oh, no, that’s never going to happen — I don’t know if that’s going to happen! “
Season 3 solidified that and then set things up that we wanted in Season 4. So 3 and 4 felt like one big season to us – those 16 episodes were all kind of conceived together. And then, like I said, something happens in 4 that’s kind of weird, even though it makes a lot of sense thematically.
Will that be at the start of Season 4?
You will notice! It is fun. It was a lot of fun, but also incredibly bittersweet.
The last two episodes while we were shooting were no fun. It was very sad.
You directed every episode of Season 4. How was it? And why are you doing this to yourself?
When Season 1 started I always wanted to direct, and then when I did the first few episodes people like Alec Berg and Liz Sarnoff and some really great directors that we had – like Maggie Carey and Hiro Murai, especially – came in , and I learned a lot from them. As the show has progressed, I’ve become a lot more confident as a director and as a writer.
I’ve always seen each season as a movie in some way. Like every season, it’s two movies or one four-hour movie. It’s like a huge story told in four parts. Basically what happened in season 3, [executive producer] Aida Rogers said, “You’ve got all this on your mind and everybody else who’s directing – you’re driving them crazy.” I continued, “Hey man, I think this should be over here, and I think it should be this and being that.” And fortunately, Alec directed the other episodes in Season 3.
So they said, “I think you should direct them all in Season 4. It’s going to make things easier for everyone.” Because I’ve been pushing to do this for so long. But it was exhausting. It was very tiring.
SSeason 3 ended with Barry finally being arrested. Can you give us a hint as to where we’ll find him at the start of the season?
He is in prison.
jail or jail?
He’s in jail, I can say that because I think that’s pretty clear from our marketing materials. But that’s all I can say.
You alluded to this question earlier, but can there be redemption for Barry Berkman, or have we transcended that possibility?
We asked ourselves that until the end. Me and the writers, we would talk about it. I don’t know. I’m interested in what people think about how it ends. I don’t think he gave up.
What series finales have you admired over the years, and did any of them contribute to how you wanted to end Barry?
To be honest, I don’t watch much TV. But I do enjoy good endings to books—things that have really satisfying endings.
I’ve never seen it in a TV show sense, I guess – even though it’s a TV show. Even if we’re editing right now, I don’t even think I’ve ever called it a “series finale” when we’re working on the final episode. It’s just the end of the story, you know what I mean?
How was that last episode to film?
Well, it’s moving on – we’re doing reshoots! It’s not a bad thing. You get into the edit area and start seeing things. And HBO is kind enough to say yes if I say, “Can I please go outside and grab this?”
You can write something and it feels so clear to you. And then you shoot it and it feels so clear. And then you edit it together and it feels so muddy. When we go back and reshoot things, it’s often for clarity. It has so many twists and turns and people’s loyalties changing and things like that that it can be confusing.
Do you have a belated catharsis in the face of this, or is it just an ongoing goodbye?
It’s kind of an ongoing farewell right now. I mean we’re all friends. You know, it’s weird: you say goodbye and then people come in to do ADR. I’ll see Stephen and Henry at the ADR tomorrow. And like I said, we’re doing reshoots.
But the very last day of principal photography – yes, it was incredibly sad. For me personally, it was an amazing, life-changing experience. So I was happy to say that to the crew, these people who have been working for so many years. Thanking you was very important to me.
When you imagine finishing the series, sending it over to HBO and putting it to bed, what do you think you will think playing Barry and creating the show has done for you?
I don’t know. That’s one thing that will probably hit me years from now. It’s like when I left Saturday Night Live, I was so groggy, and I just had two young kids, a young family, and we moved to Los Angeles. It wasn’t until I did Barry that I thought, “Man, SNL really taught me a lot about how to do these things.” Because there you have to produce your own sketches, and that gave me a lot of confidence as an actor. Or to work with people – or to put an idea on paper and work with a group of artists and technicians to see how they come together. It’s usually the next project, whatever that is, where I’m like, ‘Oh my god, you know, ‘Barry’ really influenced me in that way.’
Right now it’s like, “Oh, the story is over.” I just wanted to tell this story, and the story is done. However, I said this to Hiro Murai, and he said, “I’m telling you, when the last episode airs, it’s really sad.” Because when the last episode of “Atlanta” aired, he said, “Oh man, I’m really sad!”
So I can look forward to that.
Teaser art for “Barry” Season 4. Courtesy of HBO
This interview has been edited and abridged.