Bill Hader is teaming up with HBO.
The premium cable channel has given a series order to Hader’s half-hour hitman comedy Barry, Deadline reports. The order comes about as part of Hader and HBO’s exclusive development deal. Barry was directed by Hader (his directorial debut) and written by Hader in conjunction with Alec Berg. Hader and Berg will also executive produce, with the series set to shoot in 2017. It is the first scripted series order from HBO since Casey Bloys took over for Michael Lombardo last month as the network’s programming president.
Barry follows Hader as an ex-Marine turned two-bit hitman who is unhappy with his lot in life. When he is assigned a hit in Los Angeles, Barry finds solace and friendship in the LA theater community. Hader and Berg’s series also stars Henry Winkler (Happy Days, Children’s Hospital, Arrested Development) as acting teacher Gene Cousineau, Stephen Root (King of the Hill, Dodgeball, Office Space, NewsRadio) as Barry’s hit-organizer Fuches, Sarah Goldberg (Hindsight) as aspiring actress Sally, Anthony Carrigan (The Forgotten, Gotham) as Chechen gangster Noho Hank and Glenn Fleshler (Billions, True Detective, Delocated) as Chechen gangster Goran Pazar.
Both Hader and Berg have worked with HBO in the past. Hader played Rags in Larry David’s HBO TV movie Clear History and appeared in the premium channel’s sketch comedy series Funny or Die Presents. Berg was a writer and producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Clear History and is currently a writer and producer on Silicon Valley.