HBO

The debate over which show would win Best Comedy Series at the 2019 Emmys has mostly come down to two shows: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” last year’s winner, or “Veep,” winner of the previous three years. These two Emmy favorites seemed destined to duke it out, but there is another show that emerged this year as a third-party candidate: HBO’s “Barry.” The dark comedy series already proved itself in its first season last year, winning Emmys for Bill Hader (Best Comedy Actor) and Henry Winkler (Best Comedy Supporting Actor) on top of a sound mixing award, from a total of 13 nominations. Now, with critics and audiences agreeing that the recently wrapped second season exceeded the high quality of Season 1, the Emmy for Best Comedy Series is within range.

The highwire act of “Barry,” about an assassin (Hader) who discovers a love of acting, might have seemed unsustainable through multiple seasons, but Hader and Alec Berg, the show’s co-creators, managed to strengthen each character from the stellar ensemble in Season 2. Barry is haunted by the memory of one of the worst mistakes of his life, killing an innocent man while in combat. Sally (Sarah Goldberg) channels a past abusive relationship in her art and is frustrated by how Hollywood producers want to use her. Gene (Winkler) mourns the loss of his beloved girlfriend and must figure out how to move on. NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) is constantly at war with himself, running a criminal organization while also trying to do what is right and cheerfully protecting his friends. Everyone is working on being the best version of themselves, even if their circumstances make it impossibly difficult. Each performer is finding new depths to their characters, especially Hader, who is delivering a masterful performance that could define his career.

While still ostensibly a comedy series, “Barry” explored some dark territory in Season 2. The collateral damage of past actions weighs on every character, with Barry especially grappling with the guilt of how his actions have hurt the people he cares about. Critics have compared the series to “Breaking Bad,” particularly in regard to Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his struggle to keep all of his plates spinning while dealing with a chain reaction of events that continue to spiral out of control. Hader himself is conscious of the comparisons, though he quick to note that Barry’s descent into darkness isn’t quite at the level of Walter White yet. Barry might not ever get to that point, as we have seen him try to do the right thing and attempt to become a better person, even when his past sneaks up again and causes him to take two steps backward.

This season also featured one of the darkest, funniest, and most surreal episodes on television: “ronny/lily.” The episode, directed to perfection by Hader, features Barry being sent on a mission to kill the new lover of Detective Loach’s (John Pirruccello) ex-wife. What unfolds is a bizarre series of events in which Barry quickly discovers that his target is a Taekwondo master and while he is able to take him out, he is met with an even fiercer foe in the form of the target’s daughter, a feral child who is seemingly unkillable. This episode demonstrates a willingness to take huge risks and in this case, it paid off, similar to “Atlanta’s” bold Season 2 episode “Teddy Perkins.”

Emmy voters who did not care for the final season of “Veep” or felt Season 2 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” paled in comparison to its first have a viable third choice in “Barry.” It might not be as traditionally humorous as 95% of past Best Comedy Series winners, but there is a freshness to “Barry” that almost defies genre classification. “Barry” is redefining what a TV comedy can do within the 30-minute parameter, becoming an addictive, propulsive story about living with the past and the complexities of trying to change who you are for the better.

Be sure to make your 2019 Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before nominations are announced on July 16. And join in the fun debate over the 2019 Emmy taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

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