The Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 12, and stars flooded the red carpet. With that came the opportunity for interviews along the red carpet, and Henry Winkler, one of the stars of Barry, chose to reveal a key piece of information about the production of the HBO hit series.Barry’s third season concluded on HBO back in June. The third season proved to be a massive shakeup of the status quo, with Barry (Bill Hader, also co-creator of the show) finally being caught for his misdeeds and being carted off to prison. His handler, Fuches (Stephen Root) also found himself in prison, having embraced the lie that he was the infamous Chechen assassin known as “The Raven.” Meanwhile, No-Ho Hank (Anthony Carrigan) ended Barry season 3 on an ambiguous but dark note, as did Sally (Sarah Goldberg). As Winkler was walking the red carpet, he was stopped by Variety for an interview. The interviewer asked him how long he thought Barry could go on for, and the actor held up four fingers and simply said, “Four.” Explaining his reasoning, he said, “Because Bill [Hader] and Alec [Berg] never try to stretch. Now, I don’t mean like stretch by being better, I mean they never try to stuff something that doesn’t […] they don’t wanna push it.”
The interviewer asked Winkler if he wanted it to end so soon, and Winkler said he did not, joking that he would be an actor back on the street looking for work and holding up a sign around his neck. To that, the interviewer joked that Winkler could instead wear his Emmy around his neck. This was a reference to his previous win for Barry and his most recent nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, for which he was competing with Barry co-star Carrigan.
Ending the show on the fourth season may seem a bit premature, but it could prove to be a wise move. Barry has matured and grown with each season, and Hader and Berg expertly crafted a series with increasing tension as Barry tried to hide his assassin identity while also having a rising star as an actor. But given season 3's finale, it’s clearly time for Barry to face the music.
Barry season 4 could therefore act as a swan song to the dark comedy/drama. Already, the pieces are in place for its characters to reach their natural conclusions. Fuches will have to face his betrayal of Barry as they both languish in prison, Mr. Cousineau will have to face his grief over Detective Moss (Paula Newsome) if Barry's case goes to trial, and Sally will have to deal with the repercussions of killing a man, the cancellation of her show, and her abusive past in Joplin, Missouri. Plus, NoHo Hank will have to deal with the possible loss of Cristobal (Michael Irby). And, finally, Barry himself will have to deal with all of his acting friends, and the media, knowing of the murders he’s committed.
Barry season 4 will likely air sometime in 2023 on HBO.
Source: Variety/Twitter