Barry is back and worse than ever. Well to clarify, Barry the HBO show is at the top of its game. Barry the protagonist of said show, played by Bill Hader, is a freaking mess.
When we last left Berkman in the Season 3 finale he was being hauled away in handcuffs for attempted murder. When Season 4 opens, he’s stuck in prison struggling to grasp his new reality and the betrayals that landed him there. But even in the worst of times, Barry has two comforts close by: his old pal Fuches (Stephen Root) and Paramount Network‘s hit series Yellowstone.
The first two episodes of Barry‘s fourth and final season premiered on Sunday, April 16, 2023, and if you look closely at Episode 2, “bestest place on the earth,” you’ll notice Barry and his fellow inmates are watching Taylor Sheridan’s beloved Western drama. That’s right, folks. A scene from Yellowstone Season 1, Episode 4, “The Long Black Train” — featuring John Dutton (Kevin Costner) riding a horse with Tate (Brecken Merrill) — plays on a TV mounted behind Fuches a little over two minutes in.
After Fuches introduces himself as “The Raven” and makes his “associate” Barry’s presence be known, he tries to give the group of inmates before him nicknames. Sadly for Fuches, all they want to do is watch Yellowst one
Barry has always payed close attention to detail, so a significant amount of thought likely went in to choosing the perfect show to captivate and calm an entire prison floor. It’s also funny that rather than plug another HBO or HBO Max series, the team chose to honor the immensely popular cowboy drama that’s currently on hiatus in its fifth season. Does this prison get Paramount Network? Are they watching reruns on Peacock or cable? Do they have the DVD box set?! We have so many questions!
One thing’s for sure: Catching a glimpse of a recognizable series or film as it flashes across a TV screen in a completely different project is always delightful. Remember when The Office played on the Taylor family TV in Friday Night Lights? Or when Gilmore Girls made an appearance on a TV set in The Sopranos? Surprise series cameos will never not be intriguing. And it’s a joy to know that Barry Berkman and Yellowstone exist in the same universe
New episodes of Barry Season 4 premiere on HBO and HBO Max Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET.