“In the endless piles of crime dramas attempting to emulate the success of shows such as ‘Breaking Bad’ we’ve seen the leading anti-hero spend seasons hiding their secret from those around them. But ‘Barry’ constantly flies in the face of the shows that so clearly inspired it,” writes Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL.

FIFTEEN minutes into the first episode of “Barry”, the show’s leading anti-hero hit man disguised as a wannabe actor blows his cover.

He’s standing in the middle of a deserted car park in LA with his eccentrically washed-up theatre teacher when he breaks down and confesses to the crimes of his deadly profession. 

On the verge of tears, voice cracking guilt ridden, he can’t hold it in any longer. 

He reveals to this dumbfounded drama tutor he’s a discharged marine, one who has brought his deadly skills back into the normal world as a gun-for-hire, skills he’s been paid to use to assassinate an actor in the drama class, the only reason he signed up for it in the first place.

There’s a charged moment of tension, a point of utter unpredictability, before his teacher remarks: “Interesting”.

“The story is nonsense, but there’s something to work with,” he says, believing this strange man has just put on a masterclass in improvisation.

Of course, everything Barry just told him was true, but his teacher doesn’t know that.

This was the moment “Barry” proved it was going to be something different.

In the endless piles of crime dramas attempting to emulate the success of shows such as “Breaking Bad” we’ve seen the leading anti-hero spend seasons hiding their secret from those around them. “Barry” on the other hand constantly tries to fly in the face of the shows that so clearly inspired it.

We watch as this hitman becomes more and more absorbed by his acting class, soon realising he has dreams of his own to perform and begins to fall in love with a fellow student.

But his past casts a long shadow.

It’s not long before he’s trying to balance his newfound aspirations and love life while becoming more and more ensnared in an all out drug war.

This is the crux of “Barry”, a show where comedy and drama are in a tug-of-war with one another, but with neither side ever collapsing.

It’s sincere in its exploration of more serious themes, but is never afraid to dunk its audience in a new bucket of bathos when it needs to.

This could easily get jarring, but comedian Bill Hader is what makes it work. Hader is a writer, director, producer and stars as the titular character who is somehow able to make his audience feel for this character who deals in death.

He’s backed by a stellar cast of great actors playing bad actors.

Henry Wrinkler, who most will know as the Fonz from ’80s sitcom “Happy Days”, is ingeniously cast as the self aggrandising theatre tutor.

Sarah Goldberg plays Sally, the object of Barry’s affection and an actress so caught up in getting a star on the walk of fame that she’s oblivious to the danger right next to her.

And, of course, Anthony Harrigan, who plays the hilarious “NoHo Hank”, a deadpan chechan mobster who quickly became a fan favourite.

Now streaming its third season, it’s been three years since the show’s last episode as the pandemic heavily delayed filming.

One year breaks between shows can make details hard to remember as it is, let alone triple that. Luckily, “Barry” always keeps things snappy. 

Episodes are never more than 40 minutes, and whole seasons never more than eight episodes. In fact, it is quite remarkable how much substance “Barry” is actually able to pack into its minimal format.

The point is, it makes a rewatch quick and easy, and one that, at least for me, revealed a bunch of new details that built up even more excitement for its newest installment.

In this new set of episodes it seems the farce Barry has desperately been trying to cling on to is about to come undone, and it’s bound to bring audiences back more eager than ever before to see if he can keep those plates spinning.

That is after all, what makes “Barry” such a relatable affair. No, we’re not hitmen or killers, but haven’t we all, at least once, put on a bit of a performance to hide who we really are?

“Barry” season three is streaming on Binge.