If you don't change, your art won't

I see Bill Hader's transformation as the creator in Barry. He started with a rare combination of good storytelling, spot-on casting, visual shots that serve the story rather than decorate it, and seamless directing.

Everything was a perfect 10 for what you expect from an HBO dark comedy.

The show was his first project directing, producing, and writing. He was creating his first serious TV show.

Then Covid happened; the show was delayed for two years, and something changed in him. He rewrote the last two seasons and directed most of them himself.

Somehow after two seasons and whatever happened during COVID, he gained the confidence and passed the line of proving his ideas to others or directors who directed many episodes in the first two seasons.

What I saw was the pure confidence of a creator following his thoughts into a new era.

I probably don't enjoy it that much if it was like that from the beginning. Probably for me, a creation is not about itself but about the creator's story.

That level of confidence to produce that, I envy.