Who doesn't love an antihero? Why 'Barry' is the best, most complex watch on TV right now

The rise of “peak TV,” or whatever you want to call the leap in quality of mostly dramatic series, largely coincided with the rise of the antihero.

Tony Soprano, Walter White, any number of characters on “The Wire,” Don Draper — these are not characters you would want to live next door to, but on a certain level you couldn’t help rooting for. That’s because of a combination of the writing, the performances and the moral ambiguity that the creators of these shows embraced.

Tony Soprano was a murderous sociopath, for instance, and James Gandolfini didn’t do anything in his all-time brilliant performance to make him lovable. And yet. …

But all things must come to an end, and that may be what’s happening with the TV antihero. “Succession” is a murderer’s row of antiheroes, and it’s coming to a close. So, too, is “Barry,” another complicated HBO hit. Its fourth and final season begins Sunday, April 16.

How are we supposed to feel about this?

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'Barry,' like 'Succession,' is an HBO hit coming to an end

Barry, played with nuance and complexity by series co-creator Bill Hader, is a depressed ex-Marine turned hit man who stumbles into an acting class and finds himself. (This is the shortest version imaginable of the elevator pitch for the show.) Of course, having killed many people, he doesn’t necessarily like what he finds.

Hader and co-creator Alec Berg have never shied away from that — just as the creators of “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad” and the rest never did. But for my money, Barry is the most complicated character of them all. I hate to see a series this good end. As with “Succession,” however, better to leave the table a little hungry.

And in the case of “Barry,” there’s only so far the character can go.

Hader, known mostly as a comedic actor after his lengthy stint on “Saturday Night Live,” was not the first actor you’d think of as a stone-cold killer, but his performance is so genuine that you never doubt for an instant that Barry could carry out the hits he does.

But you also feel for the guy. Hader imbues him with a vulnerability that makes you wish there was some way out for Barry, some way to get past his terrible deeds and find a way forward, even as that seems more and more unlikely as the show gets darker and darker.

As Season 4 begins, Barry is incarcerated, charged with one of the many murders he has committed. So, too, is Fuches (the brilliant Stephen Root), Barry’s on-again, off-again mentor. Time behind bars will change both of them, in ways expected and not.

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Sarah Goldberg returns as Sally, Barry's on-again, off-again girlfriend

Sally (Sarah Goldberg), meanwhile, Barry’s on-again, off-again girlfriend (everything is on-again, off-again with this bunch), is stunned by Barry’s arrest. She wasn’t doing so great anyway, having been on the wrong end of an expletive-laden viral video. Her apology may have been worse.

Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), Barry’s former acting teacher, is terrified, having set Barry up at the end of Season 3. Of course, he’s terrified in the Gene Cousineau manner — overacting it, hamming it up even in fear. Especially in fear. Winkler is a treasure.

Then there is Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan), the glass-half-full Chechen mobster, trying to build a new empire with his former enemy, now partner in business and in life, Cristobal (Michael Irby). Hank is critical to the series. He’s comic relief, to be sure, but Carrigan’s performance is heartfelt and sweet, even as he’s arranging murders and whatnot. A laugh-out-loud couple of lines in the season’s seventh episode, for instance, serve as pressure-relief valves.

If this sounds like catching up, it is. There are only eight more episodes of “Barry,” so each is packed with crucial information and plot developments. To give away anything would be unfair.

Bill Hader's directing makes 'Barry' one of the best series on TV

Hader directs all seven episodes screened for critics, and wrote two of them. His direction remains a highlight of the series — of any series on TV, for that matter. It’s innovative, surprising and sympathetic, while never turning away from the brutality the show demands.

What does all that mean in practical terms? You’ll have to watch and find out. But Hader masterfully captures the many elements of the series.

In one episode a character says, “Barry is a very complicated guy, but a sympathetic soul.”

That’s true of the character and also the show. It sounds like a contradiction, and it is. It’s also what makes “Barry” one of the best shows on TV.

How can I watch 'Barry' Season 4?

"Barry" airs at 10:01 p.m. Sunday, April 16 on HBO. Stream on HBO Max.

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Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why 'Barry' is one of the best shows on HBO Max. How to watch Season 4