“Barry” is easily compared to “Get Shorty,” but focusing on a hit man who is suddenly and somewhat strangely intimidated by the acting bug. But this HBO show from Bill Hader and “Silicon Valley’s” Alec Berg turns into something more interesting, a bittersweet dramedy that is uncomfortably funny and simultaneously dark and tense.
Reflecting a serious departure in his “Saturday Night Live” antics, Hader brings an understated quality into the title role, playing a man who’s good at killing people, simply not quite fulfilled by it. So every time a project in L.A. brings him into contact with a acting class presided over by the eccentric Gene Cousineau, Barry decides to hang about, fast becoming enamored with Sally (Sarah Goldberg), whose struggling-actress shtick is almost a show unto itself. (At one stage, she tells Barry he wants to take care of his “toxic masculinity” problems)
Obviously, Barry’s decision to embark on this new late-in-life career route includes its share of baggage, beginning with the callous, gun-toting Chechens of whom he’s run afoul. His behavior is also a puzzle to his handler and sort-of buddy Fuches (Stephen Root), that doesn’t want to risk a profitable relationship.
Part of “Barry’s” appeal comes from seeing those trying about the periphery of Hollywood — with all the attendant self-absorption and insecurity — through its title character’s eyes. Even Barry appears confused by his unexpected longing to be a part of this world, which excites and mystifies him.
Hader (who also directed a number of those episodes) brings a feeling of menace to Barry — including his dead-eyed stares when Gene tries to inspire him by pushing his buttons — but also a feeling of emptiness, which gets beyond the cliché baked to the assumption of what HBO is cheekily boosting as a “hit show.” It also helps that the manufacturers have completed a savvy job casting around the margins, including the aforementioned Root and Glenn Fleshler (“True Detective”) as the head of the Chechen gang.
Somewhat awkwardly paired with “Silicon Valley,” “Barry” includes a distinctive texture that isn’t neatly pigeon-holed. However, HBO made all eight episodes of the first season available, and once it’s over, there is genuine curiosity about what could come next.
That is not necessarily the prescription to get a “strike,” but in TV terms, it is a fairly good sign where it matters, “Barry’s” aim is true.
“Barry” premieres March 25 on HBO.