Bill Hader Heads To HBO For a Hitman TV Series Called BARRY

Here's some cool news for fans of Bill Hader (which should include everyone who's ever seen him in anything): Deadline reports that Hader is getting his own TV show on HBO. It's a hitman comedy called Barry, and the former SNL actor and hilarious comedian stars and made his directorial debut with the pilot. He co-wrote the show with Silicon Valley executive producer Alec Berg, and HBO execs liked the pilot so much that they picked it up to series.

Barry centers on an ex-Marine (Hader) who works as a low-rent hitman in the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life, he begrudgingly travels to Los Angeles to kill someone and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the LA theater scene.

The series, which co-stars Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau, an inspiring acting teacher; Stephen Root as Fuches, a man who arranges Barry’s hits; Sarah Goldberg as Sally, an aspiring actress who is Barry’s entree into LA’s theater scene; Anthony Carrigan as Noho Hank, a Chechen gangster; and Glenn Fleshler as Goran Pazar, a Chechen gangster, will shoot in Los Angeles in 2017.

In addition to his recent film appearances in Trainwreck, Inside Out, The Angry Birds Movie, Popstar, and Finding Dory, Hader has done a ton of TV work since leaving Saturday Night Live. This seems to be something of a passion project for him, so I'm excited to see how it turns out. Sounds promising!