Barry is the latest comedy to become serious, just like recent episodes of Black-ish and Brooklyn Nine-Nine

UPROXX

All three comedies turned in dramatic episodes over the past week. Barry, in particular, had an episode that is "potentially jarring," says Alan Sepinwall. "That three comedies all took dramatic turns in the same week of 2018 isn’t all that shocking, particularly when all three have done it before," says Sepinwall. "Black-ish has done incredibly powerful work about race in America (most notably the episode 'Hope,' where the Johnsons talk about the recent spate of innocent black people shot by law-enforcement). Brooklyn‘s first episode of May a year ago was also a serious one, as Terry got racially profiled by a white cop. And from the start, Barry has taken the deaths Barry inflicts very seriously, even as much of the show’s focus is on the comic juxtaposition of a hitman taking an acting class. But the degree to which each show was creatively successful, or not, provides some object lessons on when and how is the right time for sitcoms to get heavy, and whether certain types of shows are just better-equipped to try."

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