| Series: | Barry |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 1 |
| Director: | Bill Hader |
| Length: | 33 minutes |
| Guests: |
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"Chapter One: Make Your Mark" is the pilot episode of the American dark comedy television series Barry. It was directed by Bill Hader, who stars in the title role, and co-written it along with Alec Berg. The episode establishes the plot of the series, about an American veteran turned hit man who decides to pursue an acting career after following a mark to acting class. It aired on March 25, 2018, on HBO.[1]
"Chapter One: Make Your Mark" received critical acclaim. For the episode, Bill Hader won a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series.[2]
Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) is a Marine Corps veteran and a hitman based in Cleveland. Returning home after completing a job, Barry is approached by Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root), his handler and mentor, who gives Barry an assignment for the Chechen mob in Los Angeles. Fuches hopes a change of scenery will cheer up the burnt-out Barry.
In Los Angeles, Barry meets Chechen mob boss Goran Pazar (Glenn Fleshler) and his right-hand man, known only by his nickname "NoHo Hank" (Anthony Carrigan), who tell him the target is Ryan Madison (Tyler Jacob Moore), a personal trainer and aspiring actor with whom Goran's wife Oksana is having an affair.
Barry follows Ryan to his acting class a community center and waits outside. As Barry approaches the building, he hears a woman (Sarah Goldberg) yelling. He discovers she is rehearsing lines from a script. She chastises him for breaking her concentration and runs into the building. Barry follows her and enters a theater where the woman, Sally Reed, is performing with another man on stage. The theater teacher, Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), berates Sally to tears, then encourages her to finish her scene, which she does with fervor, to the delight of the class. As Barry watches Sally, he is approached from behind by Ryan, who asks him to perform a scene from the film True Romance. Barry blankly reads his lines from the script but experiences a moment of euphoria as he hears the students applaud Ryan.
After Cousineau dismisses the class, Sally invites Barry to join the students at a bar, where she and the acting students brainstorm which monologue Barry can prepare for class. As Sally and her classmates dance, Barry watches her, becoming infatuated. Afterward, Barry drives an inebriated Ryan home. Ryan hugs him before going in his house. Meanwhile, NoHo Hank and his henchman secretly watch from afar. The next morning, Fuches tells Barry what Hank saw. Barry explains that he wants to pursue acting, but Fuches says that Barry must complete the job and forget acting, commenting that the two careers are incompatible, or else the Chechens will kill them.
At night, Barry approaches Cousineau outside the community center. Barry confesses he is a hitman and tells Cousineau that he is depressed about his life and wants to change it. However, Cousineau assumes that Barry was merely performing a monologue. He allows Barry into the class. Barry tells Cousineau his last name is Block, an idea proposed by Ryan a day earlier.
Barry follows Ryan to his apartment and approaches Ryan's car, preparing to kill him. However, Barry realizes that Ryan had already been shot dead. Barry discovers Hank and two henchmen in a car across the street. Hank orders a henchman to shoot Barry, but Barry retaliates by shooting at the three, killing the two henchmen while Hank escapes. As police rush to the scene, Barry, unaware that his actions were recorded on a lipstick camera in the Chechens' car, hides in a nearby diner. Served by a waitress learning lines for an audition, Barry tells her that he, too, is an actor.
In 2014, Hader signed a development deal with HBO and approached co-show runner Alec Berg to help him develop a television series.[3] Barry is Hader's first directing project and first major project after leaving Saturday Night Live. He also stars as Barry.
The episode was released on HBO on March 25, 2018.
The episode received critical acclaim.[4] Charles Bramesco gave the episode 5/5 stars in a review for Vulture.[5] Of Bill Hader's acting in the pilot, Vikram Murthi wrote for The A.V. Club, "Hader’s restrained portrait of depression elevates the winning material in interesting ways, especially in the acting scenes.. Barry might have spoken his lines in a rushed, monotone voice, but the polite applause, though directed at Ryan, was enough for him to catch the bug."[6]
The episode was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The Writers Guild of America nominated Bill Hader and Alec Berg in the Television: Episodic Comedy category.[7]
Bill Hader won a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series.