‘Barry’ Season 2 to Premiere in March, HBO Announces

HBO has announced the premiere date for Barry Season 2, starring Bill Hader.

The break-out dark comedy Barry returns to HBO on Sunday, March 31 at 10 p.m. ET. The show centers around a hitman (Hader) who has grown tired of his violent lifestyle, and gets sucked into the world of aspiring actors in Los Angeles. The career changes comes with a unique set of limitations and advantages, as fans saw in Season 1.

This time around, the stakes are even higher. According to HBO, Season 2 finds Barry Berkman trying to completely extricate himself from his old life without leaving a trace. Unfortunately, that is not as easy as quitting many other jobs. Barry will have to reckon with elements of his past as he tries to start over.

In addition, the aspiring actor will have to face more difficult questions inside his own head. With many of the people and circumstances that pushed him back to assassination again and again now gone, Barry will apparently have to reconcile with the fact that something “about his own psyche” continually draws him back to his bloody work.

Season 2 will reportedly follow Season 1’s format, with eight episodes of about half an hour each. Hader is set to direct two of the episodes. The major characters are all returning, including Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root), Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg), Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler).

Season 1 of Barry was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of 2018. It earned two Primetime Emmy Awards — one for Hader for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and one for Winkler as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. It got four more nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

Fans were excited for the premiere date news on Wednesday, as was the cast. Winkler retweeted HBO’s announcement, and so did D’Arcy Carden, who plays one of Barry’s acting friends in addition to her role on The Good Place.

“See u soon March thirty first,” she wrote with a kissing emoji.

It is clear that HBO has high expectations for the show by the way that it is scheduled, if nothing else. Premiering this month, Barry will begin overlapping with Game of Thrones starting with its third episode. This is about the best lead-in any show could ask for, and is undoubtedly the most coveted spot in HBO’s line-up this year. Hopefully new fans will find their way to Barry as they sit in stunned silence following each episode of Game of Thrones‘ final season.

Barry Season 2 premieres on Sunday, March 31 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.