Donald Glover says he “wanted to make a Black fairytale” for Atlanta‘s third season
The star and executive producer of the series explained that the writer's room wanted to focus on short stories this time around
Aux News Atlanta
It’s been nearly four long years since the incredible Atlanta: Robbin’ Season, but we’re one step closer the premiere of the FX series’ third season. While attending the SXSW Festival, the cast of Atlanta talked to Variety about what lies ahead this season for Earn (Donald Glover), his cousin Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Darius (LaKeith Stanfield), and Van (Zazie Beetz) as they venture to Europe for Paper Boi’s tour.
“It’s a very honest season,” said Beetz. “All of the characters are out of their element, which allows things to rise to the surface that you would otherwise be able to, in habits and in comfort, suppress. And here, you can’t, because you have nothing to catch you. It’s a lot of truth and reflections of where we’re all at as ourselves and as people—as me, as Zazie.”
From the trailer we got, that ‘fish out of water’ sensation seems fitting as the crew leaves the show’s titular Atlanta, Georgia setting for the new arena of Europe. Yet, the spirit of Atlanta “is everywhere and nowhere,” commented Stephen Glover, Donald Glover’s brother who writes and produces for the acclaimed series.
When will Atlanta, the place, make its return to the series? Well, Donald Glover assured everyone that the city will have a “heavy resurgence” coming into the fourth (and final) season which releases this fall.
“Atlanta is a state of mind. Europe solidified how we felt [while writing] Season 3. [Director Hiro Murai] calls it our maximum season,” said Donald Glover.
Glover went even more in-depth about how, for season three, the cast and crew wanted to go beyond what they’ve done previously. “We just wanted to make a Black fairytale,” Glover stated. “I remember sitting in the writers’ room and being like, ‘What do we write about?’ We just wanted to do short stories. Something I would want to watch.”
From napkin-covered heads at dinner parties to moped rides, the trailer gives hints as to how the short story format will work to showcase the Atlanta crew’s mixture of oddly hilarious and off-putting occurrences while in Europe. Thankfully, it seems that the terrifying Teddy Perkins will decide to stay in Atlanta this time around.
The third season of Atlanta premieres March 24 on FX, with next day streaming available on Hulu.
16 Comments
The whole series has always had a black fairytale feel to me honestly, it’s one of the reasons I like it.
Yeah, it’s got a pretty unique sensibility of both being about working-class life in a specific area (while a lot of things can be universal, Atlanta has a pretty grounded sense of place that gives it a markedly different feel from something that takes place in the more usual urban settings like NYC, LA or Chicago – let alone a different city standing in for one of those three because they were too expensive to shoot in) as well as otherworldly weirdness. There’s a dreamlike quality to it that it will sort of waver around – sometimes it’s about Earn’s day-to-day of trying to make sure that he’s got money in his bank account, sometimes it’s Paper Boi’s nightmarish journey through the woods after getting robbed. And often its the little touches that reinforce the idea that this world is a little off center even when it seems relatively normal, like Earn’s uncle keeping an alligator in his house or Michael Vick racing people in the parking lot outside of a nightclub.Looking forward to what season 3 brings.
I think that’s why the invisible car gag worked so well. There’s enough grounding so you don’t expect it, but also enough random weirdness to make you accept it.
I was not prepared for the image of Zazie Beetz in that dress.
Zazie is drop dead gorgeous, but I have to imagine that dress is one of those flash photography accidents. Or maybe not an accident, given that it should be public knowledge these days that certain dresses do that.
I have a whole backstory about this in my head…and let me tell you…she knew what she was doing.
It’s a sheer dress. It’s meant to be seen through. That’s what the word ‘sheer’ means.
I was at the SXSW premiere and that dress was no accident.
Usually that tends to happen on tighter dresses with a heavy flashbulb, this seems to be normal lighting and a fairly loose fitting dress. There are no pictures where it DOESN’T look completely see-through. I’m pretty sure it’s intentional.
didn’t realize it was this week already. i’ve kinda cooled on glover in the last few years but i really hope it’s good.
Yeah, I didn’t know a new season was (finally!) coming until I saw the preview last weekend. Has it been four years? Pandemic time flies so quickly.
I hope the new season comes out before they run out of things to compare it to and new ways to describe it!
The first couple episodes of season 3 are fantastic. The legend of Larry is among the most compelling and hilarious stories Atlanta has told.
Amazingly, I did not get a Community notification for this.
That header image isn’t a “cast photo” like you labeled it. That’s Donald’s brother on the far right. There are two cast members in that photo out of five people but sure let’s call it a cast photo.
Have you seen Atlanta?