(5) BARRY (2018-2023)

Its unprepossessing title belies just how much this series rocks as dark comedy and drama, named for its protagonist, a Marine sniper veteran from the war in Afghanistan turned hitman now seeking to take a much more bizarre turn into something completely different…acting. That happens after he stumbles into a theatric acting class of laughably bad amateur actors while stalking his latest hit in Los Angeles, a fitness instructor having an affair with a Chechen mafia kingpin.

Unfortunately for Barry, he’s a good hitman – with a stone-cold combat-honed talent – but not so good an actor. Even worse, his career as a hitman is not so easy to quit – or in the words of the third Godfather film, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” – as it constantly throws out its tentacles to ensnare his best efforts to escape it. Not least by his former associates – his slimy “agent” Monroe Fuches (masterfully played by Stephen Root) – and by his former client (and fanboy), Chechen mafia lieutenant NoHo Hank (hilariously played by Anthony Harrigan).

Bill Hader absolutely, dare I say it, kills it with his performance as the titular protagonist – showing his dramatic chops as well as his comic roots, particularly in the penultimate episode of the first season which won him an Emmy, as he showcased all his character’s emotional turmoil as Barry delivers a single line in his bit part in Macbeth with breathtaking intensity.

RATING: 5 STARS*****

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