As the lead and showrunner ofBarry, Bill Hader has created one of television’s best anti-heroes ever portrayed in Barry Berkman. However, creating and executing the assassin-turned-actor Barry Berkman required some influence. So, Hader turned to Vince Gilligan, creator ofBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul,to help him flesh out his story withBarry.
Hader revealed that he visited the writers' room forBreaking Bad’s prequelBetter Call Saulto get some ideas forBarrybecause he was an avid watcher ofBreaking Badduring its timeon the air. More specifically, he hung out with Gilligan to learn how they process everything.
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Hader revealed the details of visiting Gilligan and company while talking withThe Hollywood Reporter. “I saw [Gilligan] and the writers at a thing and said, ‘Man, I really feel like I owe you a check.’ And especially for season one. There was a joke that people were calling [Barry]BreakingGood,” Hader said. “On a personal level, I visited theBetter Call Saulwriters’ room way early just to be like, ‘How do you guys do this?’ And so I just watched them hang out for a day. I also hung out with Vince off and on for a couple weeks, and we got along really well. I never watched a lot of television, but I did watchBreakingBadpretty religiously. So, I was a little self-conscious about [theBreaking Badcomparisons], but I also think that as the show has progressed, it’s become its own thing.”
Much likeWalter White and Saul Goodman, Barry Berkman is an antihero. However, the difference between the two is that the stories of the former two revolve around how they gave into their dark desires to be the hardened criminals they would later become. On the other hand, Berkman is a hardened criminal who has grown tired of the profession in which he thrives because it lacks fulfillment. He initially desired to leave that life for what he believed was a better purpose in pursuing an acting career. Sadly, much like White, Berkman is willing to kill anyone who gets in the way of his goals, making him less and less redeemable as the show progresses.
It’s easy to see where Hader has taken notes fromBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul. Not just because the shows revolve around antiheroes. Gilligan knew when to end the stories for his shows by having a set end date for both of them. Hader is taking a similar routeby endingBarryin season 4. Doing so makes it so that the story does not feel drawn out. Better yet, it gives off the impression that the show knows how it will end instead of wandering aimlessly until they think of an ending.
It’s also easy to seeBetter Call Saul’s direct influence onBarry, as the latter show had a time jump no one saw coming. WhileBetter Call Sauldemonstrated that there would be a time jump from the beginning, the point of it was that it made it hard to predict how the finale would end.Barryalready set the stage for a potentially brutal endingwhen it unexpectedly killed off Cristobal Sifuentesbefore the time jump, much like whenBetter Call Saulkilled off Howard Hamlin and Lalo Salamanca. Resolving that should entice viewers to see what happens next.
Barrywill air its final episodes on HBO and stream them on HBO Max on Sundays.
