HBO’s been pulling a lot of shockers lately. Or at least, the showrunners of series’ on HBO have. First, out of nowhere, HBO’s hit drama series, “Succession” announces very last minute that season four is its last—surprise!— and another shocker just a few weeks later was that Bill Hader’s comedic assassin thriller, “Barry” was calling it quits. Hader had long said that season four was written during the pandemic and then would be tweaked, but it was long ahead of schedule, and he suggested it would at least hit a fifth season.
But apparently, something changed in the writer’s room when all was said and done, and Hader and his co-producer/co-writer/co-director Alex Berg changed their minds. Today, HBO has released the final official trailer and poster for the fourth and final season of the Emmy-winning dark comedy series “Barry” starring and directed by Emmy and DGA-winner Bill Hader (yep, he directs a lot of the series, and it’s really f*cking cinematically good).
The eight-episode season debuts with two new episodes Sunday, April 16 at 10:00 ET on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. A new episode will debut every following Sunday, leading up to the series finale on May 28.
As we know, at the end of “Barry” season three, Hader’s Barry character was finally caught and captured by the lice. In season four, Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) is hailed as a hero as Barry’s (Bill Hader) arrest has shocking consequences. It’s all been leading up to this— the explosive and hilarious final chapter of Barry.
The Emmy-nominated and winning cast regulars include Stephen Root as Monroe Fuches; Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed; Anthony Carrigan as Noho Hank; Emmy and Critics Choice winner Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau; Robert Wisdom as Jim Moss. Returning recurring guest cast includes Michael Irby as Cristobal; Fred Melamed as Tom Posorro; Andrew Leeds as Leo; and Jessy Hodges as Lindsay; new guest star, Patrick Fischler as Lon Oneil.
Bill Hader directs all eight episodes this season. Season four writers include Bill Hader, Liz Sarnoff, Duffy Boudreau, Taofik Kolade, Emma Barrie, Mark Ashmore, and Nicky Hirsch. While we will be deeply saddened to see the show go, there’s nothing better than a creative team that has realized they have hit upon the perfect ending and can recognize when a story has been told, a character arc has been fulfilled, and there’s no reason to keep on continuing for the sake of it. It’s bold and admirable, and we tip our cap to the decision.
The fourth and final season of “Barry” premieres on April 16 on HBO. Watch the new trailer below and check out the new poster too.