Barry Season 3: Everything You Need To Know - Collider

Barry is yet another HBO series that became an overnight sensation. First premiering in 2018, the genre-breaking dark comedy stars SNL alum Bill Hader as a socially-awkward contract killer who, while performing a hit in Los Angeles, joins an acting class and begins to realize that he doesn't want to kill people anymore.

In addition to garnering plenty of critical acclaim, Barry has accumulated thirty Primetime Emmy nominations throughout its initial two seasons, with Hader winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series twice.

Now that the show is finally making its return after a three-year hiatus, we've created a handy, easy-to-read guide that will answer all the questions you may have about Barry Season 3 including when it will premiere, whose part of the cast, and if the series will continue past this season.

Image via HBO

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Watch the Barry Season 3 Trailer

The first teaser for Barry Season 3 was released on March 16, 2022. In less than sixty seconds, this trailer's first half recaps the ending of Season 2 while the second half shows off glimpses of the long awaited Season 3.

The full-length trailer was released on April 5, 2022, revealing the emotional stakes for this season while still throwing in sprinkles of well-placed dark humor. It also hints that Season 3 will explore the relationship between Barry and his acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) after the latter finds out Barry killed his girlfriend in the Season 1 finale.

When Will Barry Season 3 Premiere?

The first episode of Barry Season 3 will be released Sunday, April 24, 2022, at 10 PM EST on HBO and HBO Max. Each subsequent episode will premiere until June 12, 2022, when the season finale airs.

Who is in the Cast of Barry Season 3?

Image via HBO

Many of the actors from the first two seasons of Barry will return for Season 3 in addition to Hader, such as Stephen Root (Office Space), Sarah Goldberg (The Dark Knight Rises), Anthony Carrigan (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Henry Winkler(The Waterboy), Sarah Burns (Enlightened), D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place), and Michael Irby (Mayans M.C.).

New actors for this season include Fred Melamed (WandaVision) and Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), but not much is known about their characters as of this writing.

How Many Episodes Does Barry Season 3 Have?

Just like the past two seasons, Barry Season 3 will have eight episodes total. HBO has revealed the titles for the first four episodes of the season, which are as follows:

• "forgiving jeff"
• "limonada"
• "ben mendelsohn"
• "all the sauces"

Both Hader and series co-creator Alec Berg wrote the first two episodes as a pair while Emma Barrie (Splitting Up Together) and Jason Kim (Girls) wrote Episodes 3 and 4.

As for directors, Hader helmed the first two episodes and Berg helmed the next two. However, Hader told Collider's Steve Weintraub in October 2021, while Barry Season 3 only had one month left of production, that he directed five episodes for this season whereas Berg directed three episodes for this season. So if you're wondering how many episodes both creators directed in the latter half, Hader directed three and Berg directed one.

Related:'Barry' Season 3 Review: The Best White-Knuckling Thrill Ride Yet

When did Barry Season 3 Film?

Production for Barry Season 3, like many others in March 2020, was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Henry Winkler told CBS News in May 2020 that the cast was in the middle of table reads before production was officially delayed, and they didn't film anything before then.

Thankfully, filming for the season officially began on August 2, 2021. Here's what Hader said about filming for Season 3:

"It's going really well. I mean, we have a month left of shooting. Everybody's been great. I don't know if I could tease really anything because so much stuff happens. We had some people come in and shoot stuff who've been in the other seasons and yesterday actually they came in and they have this kind of cameo part this season. And I showed them a still from the first episode and they were shocked and they went, whoa, what? I was like, yeah. So that was a fun reaction so I'm interested to see what people think about it."

Although the end of production for Season 3 was never officially announced, it likely wrapped sometime in November 2021 based on the timing of this interview, which was in October.

What Is the Plot of Barry Season 3?

Here is the official plot synopsis for Barry Season 3:

"Desperate to leave his violent past behind in favor of his newfound passion, Barry (Hader) is attempting to untangle himself from the world of contract killing and fully immerse himself in acting. But getting out is messy. While Barry has eliminated many of the external factors that pushed him towards violence, he soon discovers they weren't the only forces at play. What is it about his own psyche that led him to become a killer in the first place? Season three finds Barry and the other characters trying to make the right choice."

Judging by this synopsis, the third season will continue to see Barry wrestling with his identity while we learn more out more about why he became a killer in the first place. As is the case with the previous two seasons, it will also likely explore the existential dread that comes with having to figure out your own identity.

Will There Be A Barry Season 4?

Image via HBO

While HBO hasn't technically renewed Barry for a fourth season as of this writing, Hader has confirmed that the fourth season was written during the COVID-19 lockdown.

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He even told Steve Weintraub that Season 3 had to be reworked since he and the creative team now know what will happen in Season 4:

We mapped out season four and then went back and started laying stuff in season three that could be in season four and it was really helpful. It was kind of like a great way of, I mean season three, we end up kind of fully overhauling a lot of elements of it because we had written four. So it was good.

Barry will undoubtedly be renewed for a fourth season if Season 3 is as big of a success as the last two seasons.