AceShowbiz -

Bill Hader is back to television with "Barry". His half-hour comedy pilot, which was developed under his exclusive deal with HBO, has been picked up to series by the premium cable channel. The "Saturday Night Live" alum co-writes, directs and stars in the pilot.

Co-written by "Silicon Valley" executive producer Alec Berg, "Barry" centers on the titular character, a former Marine who works as a low-rent hitman in the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life, he begrudgingly travels to Los Angeles to kill someone and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the L.A. Theater scene.

The cast also include Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau, an inspiring acting teacher; Stephen Root as Fuches, a man who arranges Barry's hits; Sarah Goldberg as Sally, an aspiring actress who is Barry's entree into L.A.'s theater scene; Anthony Carrigan as Noho Hank, a Chechen gangster; and Glenn Fleshler as Goran Pazar, a Chechen gangster.

Filming on the new series will begin in 2017 in Los Angeles. No premiere date is set just yet. Hader and Berg executive produce the series.

Hader was a regular player on "SNL" from 2005 until 2013. Since then, he has guest starred on "The Mindy Project" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". He returned to the NBC sketch series as a host in 2014 and starred in 2015's comedy "Trainwreck" opposite Amy Schumer.