Glover is a known entity. He has written on 30 Rock, acted on Community, and released rap songs under the pseudonym Childish Gambino. Hell, I've probably seen him in things since 2006, when he was with Derrick Comedy on Youtube. In Atlanta, he plays the straight man for the most part. He is one of the best at that. Something crazy happens, and he has the perfect reaction to make you laugh.
Glover plays Earnest, or Earn, who is basically homeless. He has a small child from a relationship with Van. Their relationship is somewhat undefined, but they aren't really together. Sometimes, he sleeps there when she lets him. He's looking for a way to get money as he is dirt poor and his parents are unwilling to lend him any money. He sees an opportunity in the form of his cousin, up-and-coming rapper named Paper Boi. Thus, he ends up becoming his manager.
Paper Boi, or Alfred, is played by Brian Tyree Henry, a man who doesn't seem to enjoy his rising popularity. He doesn't like that he gained his popularity from a shooting, he doesn't like fans too-earnestly reciting his lyrics to him, and he doesn't like having to look over his shoulder all the time. He's also a drug dealer by the way. He doesn't appear to enjoy any of this so much as feel like it's a requirement for him to survive in this world. I'm making this series sound more foreboding than it is, though there is a runner throughout that suggests someone's out to get him.
But the real scene stealer of the season is Lakeith Stanfield, who I first saw back in 2014 on Short Term 12 (a fantastic movie that you, random reader, should watch. It stars the always great Brie Larson and is on Netflix right now!) He plays a vastly different character here. He's a spacey, strange individual who will end up saying the most random shit possible. It's impossible for me to describe exactly how he steals scenes, but I think it's all on his delivery (and the writing).
This is a deeply funny series. It's thoughtful and makes smart comments about race (and other things), but perhaps the truest test of a comedy, is that it is fucking hilarious. Whether it's Stanfield's delivery, Henry's consistent and constant state of aghast (I'm stealing this from another site, but he's in a league with John Krasinki at reacting "I can't believe this is happening right now" with just his face), or just weird things thrown in randomly that earn this series the "experimental comedy" genre.
And it's experimental make no mistake. There's an entire episode dedicated to a talk show format designed to have the two guests argue (when they start agreeing, the host desperately tries to get them back to arguing) and a look at what commercials would be like if they explicitly appealed to black viewers. The show mostly ignores Van (played by Zazie Beetz) for the first five episodes and then drops an episode completely from her point of view for the sixth. Glover, the apparent star of the show, disappears for two straight episodes. You really don't know what you're getting with this series.
It's inaccurate to call Atlanta an anthology show, because it's the same characters, but it's not clear that anything that happens has long-term consequences. There's a shooting in the first episode and by all accounts it's clear that happened - it's consistently acknowledged throughout the show - and it's clear Paper Boi has a very ill-defined rise in popularity because of it, but he's at one point popular enough to be on a talk show and another time not popular enough to get any cheers when his name is shouted out at a club. So they are very vague on things like that. But Earn is always broke, always trying to make money, and always trying to find a place to live. So they have continuity only when it makes sense to them.
The musical choices in this are some of the best in television. Let's just say that the season ends on an Outkast song to give you an idea, although sometimes they throw you an unexpected choice that works just as well. Needless to say, I may be looking around for a playlist of all the music that appeared on here.
Hiro Murai directs eight episodes of the show. Previously a music video director - he came into orbit with Glover through rap - he certainly has a special touch. There's not really anything specifically that would indicate he was a music video director. I suppose the expert use and knowledge of music throughout is just about the only thing. One of the episodes - an extremely experimental one - is directed by Glover himself.
Atlanta is a very good show - it will make my top ten comedies of the year when I get around to posting that. The cast is excellent throughout, it's weird, it's funny, and I'm excited to see what the second season will bring. It's a show I recommend not because I know you will like it, but because it's pretty different then most comedies and it's funny. That alone should make this at the very least interesting.
Grade - A-
It's inaccurate to call Atlanta an anthology show, because it's the same characters, but it's not clear that anything that happens has long-term consequences. There's a shooting in the first episode and by all accounts it's clear that happened - it's consistently acknowledged throughout the show - and it's clear Paper Boi has a very ill-defined rise in popularity because of it, but he's at one point popular enough to be on a talk show and another time not popular enough to get any cheers when his name is shouted out at a club. So they are very vague on things like that. But Earn is always broke, always trying to make money, and always trying to find a place to live. So they have continuity only when it makes sense to them.
The musical choices in this are some of the best in television. Let's just say that the season ends on an Outkast song to give you an idea, although sometimes they throw you an unexpected choice that works just as well. Needless to say, I may be looking around for a playlist of all the music that appeared on here.
Hiro Murai directs eight episodes of the show. Previously a music video director - he came into orbit with Glover through rap - he certainly has a special touch. There's not really anything specifically that would indicate he was a music video director. I suppose the expert use and knowledge of music throughout is just about the only thing. One of the episodes - an extremely experimental one - is directed by Glover himself.
Atlanta is a very good show - it will make my top ten comedies of the year when I get around to posting that. The cast is excellent throughout, it's weird, it's funny, and I'm excited to see what the second season will bring. It's a show I recommend not because I know you will like it, but because it's pretty different then most comedies and it's funny. That alone should make this at the very least interesting.
Grade - A-
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