10 TV Shows That Were Saved By One Genius Tweak
8. Rewriting NoHo Hank's Fate - Barry
It took just a single episode of Bill Hader's incredible black comedy series Barry for viewers to realise that Chechen mobster NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) was an attention-grabbing breakout character.
Throughout the show's three seasons to date, Hank has been a show-stealing fan favourite, his quirky demeanour and hilarious interactions with Barry (Hader) ingeniously subverting the far-flung mobster archetype.
Yet Hank was very nearly a single-episode character who died in the pilot, as it wasn't until that episode had been filmed that Hader and co-creator Alec Berg truly appreciated just how much of an asset he could be. Hader said in a 2019 Uproxx interview:
"Initially, in the pilot, he died... When I shoot up the car, he was dead. And then Alec [Berg] and I said, 'We'd be insane to kill that guy. He's so funny.' That's why in episode two, his arm's in a sling and everything."
Hank is such an integral, outstanding component of the ensemble cast that it's tough to imagine the show hitting the same highs without him. And for his efforts, Carrigan has received two Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy nominations.