With its third and fourth seasons already shot, Donald Glover, the creator and star (and sometimes writer and director) of the groundbreaking and experimental comedy “Atlanta,” says that he’s calling it a day.
“Death is natural,” Glover said at a Television Critics Association press conference on Thursday. “I feel like when the conditions are right for something, they happen, and when the conditions aren’t right, they don’t happen. I don’t feel any longevity. Because then things start to get weird. The story was always supposed to be what it was. And the story, it really was us. Everybody in that writers’ room, everybody on set. It really was what we were going through and what we talked about. … I think it ends perfectly.”
Co-star Zazie Beetz concurred, adding, “I agree with Donald that we’re ending on what feels like a peak and not letting it peter out.” Brian Henry Tyree summed up the decision saying, “‘Atlanta’ feels like an institution. You go to high school for four years, you go to college for four years, this was our own graduation of going somewhere bigger.”
During its first season, which debuted in September 2016, “Atlanta” was nominated for six Primetime Emmys, and won two, with trophies going to Glover for outstanding directing in a comedy series and for lead actor in a comedy series.
Its second season, which broadcast in spring 2018, received 16 nominations and three wins: for cinematography, sound editing, and a best guest actor award going to Katt Williams. That year Brian Henry Tyree and Zazie Beets were also nominated for best supporting actor and actress in a comedic series.
The show’s first season won a Golden Globe for both best television series, musical or comedy, and Glover won for best actor, musical or comedy. Glover was nominated in the same category again for its second season, but ultimately lost to Michael Douglas in “The Kominsky Method.”
“Atlanta” has also been recognized with wins from a slew of other groups and organizations like the AFI Awards, the Gotham Awards, NAACP Image Awards, the Peabodys, the Television Critics Association, and the Writers Guild of America.
FX will air the third season beginning on March 24, with 10 episodes in all. Currently, the plan is to air season four, also 10 episodes, this fall. Production took the “Atlanta” crew on location to London, Amsterdam, and Paris for the back-to-back shoot.
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