Bill Hader Reveals Why Barry, The Best Show On HBO, Is Ending After Season 4
Bill Hader says the fourth season of Barry will be the last because the story had reached a natural conclusion.
Bill Hader is about to take his final shot as Barry Berkman. Variety revealed the first look at the fourth and final season of HBO’s Barry, along with an April 16 premiere date. When asked why the show would be ending with season four, series star and co-creator Bill Hader said the decision was clear because the narrative had naturally come to a conclusion.
When COVID-19 shut the world down in 2020, it also shut down production on the third season of Barry. During the forced hiatus, Bill Hader and the Barry creative team took the opportunity to write the show’s fourth season, and as they did, a strange thing happened. According to Hader, “[A] very clear ending presented itself.”
Bill Hader explained that even after a natural conclusion emerged, admitting that it was the end of Barry was challenging. The team on the HBO show was sad to hear the news, but the overwhelming consensus is that now is the time for Barry to conclude. “You realize, well, we could pad a lot of stuff, and just make story,” Hader said. “But if we’re going forward, it ends in season four.”
After winning an Emmy for an episode he directed in season three, Bill Hader decided to direct every episode in the fourth season of Barry. Hader admitted that the feat was exhausting, but it was a dream come true. He had been so involved in calling the shots on season three, even when he wasn’t officially directing, that it would be easier for all involved if he took the helm.
Bill Hader said Barry changed his life, but it is hard for him to tell exactly how. “It’s usually the next project, whatever that is, that I’ll go, ‘Oh, my God, you know, Barry really affected me in this way,’” Hader said. For now, Hader is wrapping up post-production for season four and anticipating the emotional day when the final episode airs.
Barry is a unique show for HBO, delicately balancing laugh-out-loud humor with gripping tension, brutal violence, and emotional depth. Bill Hader is joined by a superstar cast in Barry, including The Waterboy’s Henry Winkler, The Night House’s Sarah Goldberg, King of the Hill’s Stephen Root, and Gotham’s Anthony Carrigan.
Season four of Barry looks to pick up in the aftermath of season three’s finale, landing Barry in prison. But if the show has taught audiences anything, it’s that when Barry is on a mission, there is not much that can stop him. The teaser trailer promises more drama, laughs, stunning acting from Bill Hader, and violence for Barry Berkman.
Bill Hader said he does not know what is next on the directing front after Barry is finished, but the actor is attached to star in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl writer Jesse Andrews’ directorial debut, Empress of Serenity. That film will send Bill Hader on a cruise with his father as he grieves the death of his mother. Issa Rae is also set to star in the film.
Bill Hader has expanded his career in an exciting way with Barry. Hader made his breakthrough on Saturday Night Live, and with Barry, he has asserted himself as a talented dramatic force on both sides of the camera. Bill Hader may not know where he is taking his talents next, but wherever he goes, his fans are sure to follow. Until then, the world will look forward to April 16 and the beginning of the end of Barry.
