Barry (2018): parents' guide
Best for ages 17 and up. Rated TV-MA.
A dark crime comedy for older teens and adults. A depressed hit man stumbles into an acting class in Los Angeles and tries to leave killing behind, but violence keeps pulling him back over four increasingly bleak seasons. Shootings, stabbings and torture are frequent and sometimes graphic, f-words are constant, and there are brief sex scenes with topless nudity. The show also deals with suicide, an abusive marriage, a controlling relationship, and threats against children. The comedy is real, but the bloodshed and despair make it best for 17 and up.
What's in it
Violence
StrongFrequent and often graphic: a corpse with a bullet hole in the head, gang members shot in a car, machine-gun shootouts, torture by tooth filing and electroshock, a stabbing with scissors and a massacre at a monastery. Later seasons grow darker.
Language
StrongVery strong. Plugged In counted more than 20 f-words and 10 s-words in the pilot, and more than 40 f-words plus three c-words in a season 3 episode, along with compound f-words and crude anatomical slang.
Sex and nudity
ModerateBrief but frank: the pilot has a loud sex scene with a woman's breasts partly visible, Barry and Sally sleep together, and the series includes a topless sex scene and a romance between two men. Crude sexual jokes are common.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateCharacters drink in bars and at home, Barry has past DUIs, and a gang member offers him beer and mentions meth. The gangs Barry works with deal drugs, but drug use is not a major focus.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateTense and bleak rather than scary: a ferocious 12-year-old fighter attacks Barry, men are buried alive, others are mauled off screen with audible screams, a man accidentally shoots his own son, and characters die by suicide in seasons 1 and 3.
Sensitive topics
- Suicide
- Domestic abuse
Worth talking about
Barry keeps telling himself he only hurts people who deserve it. Ask your teen whether wanting to change is enough, and what real accountability would look like.
On our lists
Similar picks around 17+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.