In the 70-second promo, we see Barry imagine Sally in the prison yard, before being confronted by a very-real Fuches (Stephen Root), who is one of his fellow inmates. While we don’t see how that face-off goes down, the end of the trailer shows a heavily beat-up Barry on a phone call telling someone, “So help me God, if I get out of here, I’m coming for you.” Other highlights of the trailer include a phone call between Barry and Gene (“Hey Barry, I gotcha” his teacher says, and he sounds more sweet than vengeful), Sally stepping back onto a set, and a glimpse at a tense-looking Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan) reunited with his lover, Cristobal (Michael Irby).
It somehow feels right that there isn’t a joke in sight in this promo for a show that started as a comedy. “Barry” has remained darkly funny throughout its run, but it’s also one of the most grippingly bleak shows on TV. The third season showed Barry, who some fans at first considered a sort of endearingly awkward antihero, making horrifying moves as he has a breakdown, alienates and re-traumatizes Sally, kidnaps Gene, and visits a strange sort of purgatory after nearly dying at the hands of a family member of one of his victims. Bill Hader may be known as a comedian, but he’s also one of the best filmmakers working today in any genre.
“Barry” has already broken the TV mold in a dozen different ways, but the final season will apparently get even bolder. “What happens in Season 4 is structurally radical in some ways, but it made sense for what I think the characters needed to go through,” Hader told Variety. That sounds ominous and unmissable.
“Barry” returns to HBO and HBO Max on April 16, 2023.