Los Angeles is a city where people go to reinvent themselves. As a place full of transplants from all over the rest of the country, one of the most persistent Hollywood clichés is the idea of someone dropping their old life in an effort to achieve stardom. That is precisely the core concept of Bill Hader's new HBO comedy series, Barry, and the first official trailer for this highly-anticipated series makes the project look considerably darker than we expected. Check it out below to see for yourself.
Barry is one of those series that has been on our collective radar for quite some time, but this first look indicates the show will strike a darker tone than we previously anticipated. The upcoming HBO project centers on the titular Barry (Bill Hader), a veteran assassin who finds a love for acting during a mission in Los Angeles. We do not get much else to work with in terms of concrete plot details, but this quick trailer seems to make it reasonably clear that Barry is aiming to balance the inherent darkness of its premise with the relatable, awkward comedy that Bill Hader typically excels at in his roles. There will be plenty of laughs, but there also appears to be an explicit recognition of what Barry does for a living -- guns, blood, and all.
That said, despite the overall uniqueness of Barry's tone and premise, the show definitely maintains many of the hallmarks that we associate with an HBO comedy series. It looks like a star-studded affair with plenty of familiar faces popping up throughout the trailer (such as Henry Winkler and Stephen Root), and the Hollywood-skewering Los Angeles setting certainly invokes memories of other HBO series like Entourage on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
One of the most important things worth noting about Barry is the fact that it represents one of Bill Hader's first real forays into the world of lead acting. The Saturday Night Live alum has maintained a consistent presence on the big and small screens in recent years, but his roles have been predominately relegated to supporting positions in projects like Hot Rod, the Power Rangers reboot, and Inside Out. Barry is one of the first substantial lead roles in Bill Hader's career, so it will undoubtedly prove fascinating to see what he can do with more screen time and a generally meatier persona to fill.
Barry will debut on HBO in spring 2018. Until then, keep an eye on our fall TV premiere guide, as well as our midseason premiere guide to stay in the loop on everything coming out over the next few months. Check out our comprehensive cancellation guide to see all of the shows that have left us in 2017. In the podcasting world, listen to our most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear what we have to say about the latest in the realm of steaming content!
