It has been three years since Barry’s second season. For three long years we have lived without Noho Hank, the most relentlessly positive and encouraging cinematic mobster. Barry is a widely admired show, and a lot of the attention goes to series co-creator and star Bill Hader, who also writes and directs for the show, and rightly so, Bill Hader is AMAZING in Barry. But for me, Noho Hank makes the show. Without him, Barry would be so bleak, maybe too bleak. But Anthony Carrigan’s charming, effusive performance as Noho Hank brings a brighter energy, often when least expected, and he usually provides the “comedy” in Barry’s dark comedy formula.
Just look at the teaser for season three. There’s Barry, looking sad and depressed and upset, and Sally, also looking sad and upset, and Fuches, also sad and upset, and Gene Cousineau, looking scared and upset, and everyone has guns and angry faces and is that a dead body through Barry’s windshield? And then there’s Noho Hank, with his tangerine polo shirt and summer white suit, looking like he’s taking his cues from Miami Vice (which he may very well be). You know what crossover I’d like to see? Barry and Our Flag Means Death. Don’t ask me how it would work—wormholes?—but Noho Hank and Stede Bonnet need to meet. They have very similar energy, and similar positive outlooks despite being engaged in lives of crime. They also have a mutual appreciation for stylish suiting, and best friends who are very dangerous and probably not to be trusted. Damn, now I really want this to happen! Oh well, I guess I’ll settle for Barry season three on its own, and the return of one of the best characters on television: Noho Hank.
