Barry: An Examination of Morality and the Capacity for Change

I’ve decided that 2019 is Bill Hader’s year, because he’s amazing and he deserves it.

On top of receiving almost universal praise for his role in the highly-anticipated “It: Chapter Two”, he recently won his second Emmy for “Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series”, his second in a row for the show of his co-creation, “Barry”. Discussion over the former has often led to discussion of the latter, as many have said that there shouldn’t be surprise over Hader’s competence as a serious actor with two seasons of his tragicomedy under his belt.

“Barry” first premiered on HBO in March of 2018, a collaboration between Hader and Alec Berg (a writer known primarily for his work on “Seinfeld” and “Silicon Valley”), with a second season quickly following in March of 2019, and a third soon to come. The show follows Hader as the titular character, a “a [former Marine] turned-hitman from Ohio who travels to Los Angeles to kill someone, and then finds himself joining an acting class”, and the conflict grows from there as Barry attempts to keep these two vastly different lives separate.

Like a good portion of the media I engage with these days, I was introduced to the show partially through the power of social media, and partially through my sister’s complete obsession with all things Bill Hader. She had been…