When listing the superlatives of Atlanta, it’s hard to know where to begin. Creative polymath Donald Glover’s critically acclaimed, award-winning series has been considered one of the most innovative and captivating shows on TV since its debut in 2016 – and one of the weirdest.
Atlanta has some of the most appealing and relatable characters of any series, performed by one of the best ensemble casts – and Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield and Glover himself have all reaped the benefits, each of them becoming much bigger stars in their own right in the past six years. Few if any other series are as bold and incisive when it comes to satirising racial politics in the United States. Atlanta also happens to be, in the humble opinion of this writer, one of the funniest shows out there.
After a four-year break since season two ended in 2018, 2022 has brought a double-dip of long-awaited delights for Atlanta fans, with not one but two new seasons on offer – though it also brings the melancholy prospect of an end to this inimitable series. Season three aired from March through May, while season four, the final season, is playing out weekly at the moment.
Season three followed Earn, Al, Darius and Van to Europe for a headlining tour as Paper Boi (Al’s musical alter ego) finally hit the big time. In the process it upped the ante on Atlanta’s tendency to intrigue and, indeed, provoke the viewer. The show has always been weird and trippy, from bizarre little touches like hoverboards, invisible cars and Justin Bieber depicted as a Black man to the lights-out horror of season two’s spectacular “Teddy Perkins” episode.
Glover’s stated intent at the start of the series was for it to be like “Twin Peaks with rappers”. With the last season, he truly lived up to that Lynchian promise, with more of a focus on horror throughout the season than ever before, more deliberately confounding plot twists, and the overarching story disrupted with disorienting layers of dreams and hallucinations. Atlanta has always felt more like cinema than television and season three revelled in cinematic adventurousness.
Season three also featured several standalone anthology episodes that put the protagonists’ European odyssey on pause so that Glover and company could explore more directly what it is to be Black in this world – and, paradoxically, what it is to be white. In their social satire and unsettling, otherworldly feel, the anthology eps often felt like a Black take on Black Mirror, and tackled topics like reparations for slavery and a horrific real-life case of the murder of adopted Black children.
The main narrative of season three didn’t stint on social commentary either – through all the main characters’ overseas hijinks, the writers were unsparing in reminding us how racist Europe can be. Hilarious and disturbing setpieces included a crowd at a Paper Boi concert in Amsterdam all wearing blackface to celebrate an outdated Christmas tradition, and, in another episode, a secret pagan ceremony to mark the assisted suicide of Tupac Shakur – a scene which was eerily reminiscent of Ari Aster’s Midsommar.
The running theme of season three was alienation. Each of the four protagonists were lost in some way or other on the road in Europe – anxious, artistically paralysed, pretending to be people they weren’t. This was most fully realised in the astonishing final episode, in which Van takes on the identity of a French woman during a series of breathless capers, culminating in a hilariously grotesque cannibalistic feast straight out of a splatter film (with Alexander Skarsgård, playing himself, as a guest at the feast and only adding to the weirdness).
Season four was not available for preview, but from what we know of it thanks to the trailer, interviews with the creators and plain old gossip, it promises a certain amount of closure after these freewheeling foreign adventures. For starters, the season takes place back on the characters’ home turf of Atlanta. No other film or series has depicted this Southern cultural capital and its music scene so lovingly or with so much depth, and it’s heartening to hear that the series will wrap it all up there.
This time, they're back in Atlanta. Source: Disney
Director , a key collaborator of Glover’s throughout the run of the show, describes it as “kind of a homecoming season”. He goes on: “I think it’ll feel a little nostalgic too because I don’t think you’ve seen Atlanta during the summer since season one. It’s kind of like the greatest hits season.” Indeed, the first episode of the new season is called ‘The Most Atlanta’.
Earlier this year, addressing all that’s happened in the world since the final season was first written in 2019, , “There’s some stuff that we changed in season four, because I think we all changed… So all of us kind of grew up. The show’s very punk in a lot of ways, and I think we became more not punk, because we cared about stuff.”
Of course, it being Atlanta, we know to expect the unexpected and the unconventional, and chances are probably slim that the new season will feel “grown-up” and “not punk”. But the series has always had a lot of emotional depth, thanks to the terrific acting and consistently sharp writing. Even amidst all the surrealism of season three, the characters had plenty of opportunity for reflection about getting older, coping with success, and mental health. From all indications, the final season will be focused on themes of growth and maturity as these character arcs come to a close.
Danny Glover in 'Atlanta' season 4. Source: Disney
“I was a little emotional,” Beetz about working on the finale. “But I’m glad I knew it was ending because then I could really lean into the relationships, knowing this was my last chance to play Van. Van changed my life and I loved her.”
Glover sounded philosophical in contemplating the end of his passion project. “Death is natural,” he said. “I think it ends perfectly.”
Fast-tracked from the US, season 4 of Atlanta premiered with a double episode on Friday 16 September on SBS VICELAND and . Seasons 1–3 are also streaming now. New episodes of season 4 air weekly at 9.20pm Fridays on SBS VICELAND and will also be available each week at SBS On Demand. Dive into season 4 now:
