Bill Hader Will Direct, Write and Star in New Series ‘Barry’ at HBO
Jack-of-all-trades Bill Hader, known for his turn on SNL and as a writer for South Park, will soon be able to add “director” to his resume after it was announced today that HBO picked up his new series, Barry.
Barry, which Hader will be directing, co-writing and starring in, follows the story of an ex-Marine-turned-Hitman who is less than satisfied with his life. He travels to Los Angeles for a contract, but instead finds himself falling in with an unusual crowd — a group of fledgling theater actors.
The show seems to have a knockout cast so far, including Henry Winkler as a Los Angeles acting coach, Stephen Root (of King of the Hill and Office Space) as Barry’s hitman employer, Sarah Goldberg (of Gambit) as Barry’s first LA theater friend, and Anthony Carrigan (of Gotham and The Flash) and Glenn Fleshler (of Blue Jasmine and A Most Violent Year,) both as Chechen gangsters.
Hader will executive produce along with Alec Berg, who also executive produces HBO’s hit comedy Silicon Valley. The show will begin filming in Los Angeles in 2017.
Hader has been keeping busy as of late: He’s got a role in the upcoming Lonely Island movie Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and provided his voice for huge upcoming animated projects Finding Dory and Sausage Party. On top of that, he also writes, produces and stars in the IFC show that he created alongside Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers and Rhys Thomas. Needless to say, it doesn’t look like Hader is slowing down anytime soon, which likely nobody takes issue with, as everything the guy touches turns to gold.
