Explained: Why is Barry ending with season 4?

HBO's Barry, the highly compelling and critically acclaimed dark comedy series, is all set to make its return with its upcoming season 4 on April 16. However, the news comes as a bitter-sweet one to the show's followers as the upcoming installment will also be the final season of the series.

The official teaser for Barry was dropped on YouTube by HBO on March 7, where it was announced that with this upcoming season, the show will bid goodbye to its fans.

The arresting show's star and co-creator, Bill Hader, opened up about the reason behind ending the series with season 4, in a recent interview with Variety, stating:

"I feel like the story naturally ends after season 4."

The thought of ending the HBO series had come to Hader's mind before, as stated by him in the interview, but he had always found himself saying:

"But we have such a good time doing it!"

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Barry co-creator Bill Hader disclosed that Season 4 would be the final season of the series in the summer of 2022

Without a shred of doubt, the show's creative team, along with Hader, had plenty of reasons to continue the series further as the preceding season 3 of the show received rave reviews from both the audience and critics. The series has also been nominated for a total of 44 prestigious Emmy Awards, and has won nine out of them.

Most importantly, Bill Hader had no intention of bidding a premature goodbye to the fan-favorite dark comedy series. In the interview with Variety, Hader further said:

"We didn’t want to admit it to ourselves, you know what I mean?"

Hader revealed that it wasn't until the show's 4th season started filming in the summer of 2022, that he disclosed the news of ending the series to the Executive Vice President of HBO's Comedy Programming, Amy Gravitt, who had been working with him since the very beginning. Hader found a natural ending to Barry's story after season 4 and that is the reason behind its ending.

Hader recalled that when he broke the news to Gravitt, she was indeed heartbroken and quite sad. However, the latter has exclaimed that she completely trusts Hader's judgment regarding the show's future, stating:

"Every decision that he’s made about the story, or the jump between seasons, has made sense — so I had to go with his gut on that,...Obviously, now that we’re here, we’re feeling sentimental about it. But it really does feel like it’s the right time to finish the show." (Via Variety)

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Take a closer look at the official teaser for Barry season 4

In the official teaser released by HBO, Barry is seen incarcerated after getting arrested in season 3's finale episode. His former mentor and friend, Cousineau, is seen in the teaser saying meaningfully, "Hey Barry — I got you."

As the official teaser gathers momentum, viewers witness a seemingly worried Sally stepping onto a set, while Barry hits his head on a wall. At the very end of the teaser, the latter is seen saying on a phone call:

"So help me God, if I get out of here, I’m coming for you."

However, to whom he is saying these words to is not revealed in the teaser. To find out, viewers have to catch season 4 of the series, which will debut on April 16, 2023, on HBO and HBO Max.