TV Series Review: Barry (season 1)

I binge watched this on a flight a while ago. This was surprisingly good. It is the story of a hitman who wants to become an actor. It’s the sort of thing that could easily turn really cutesy and unrealistic if it leans heavily on the comedy side, like Get Shorty for example (which is a fun movie and decent TV series btw). However Barry is much darker. It doesn’t shy away from the naked horror of what its titular character does: He kills people for money.

We see him wrestle with this many times and even better, we see that most of his suffering comes from his own bad choices. Barry is a true black comedy that defies conventions in good ways. The tonal shifts are jarring but feel intentional and organic. Also, Henry Winkler and Anthony Carrigan are amazing supporting characters as an acting teacher and a Chechen gangster respectively. The show’s biggest weakness is its female characters who don’t add much but don’t get in the way either.

Not sure yet if I’ll go through the remaining seasons but so far this one I can easily recommend.

Grade: B+