ATLANTA: SEASON THREE
Starring: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz
Creator: Donald Glover
AMARÚ
Bruh, Atlanta is wild. The turns from absurd to thought-provoking to gut-busting to insightful will leave you in awe, especially when such genius can often happen before the episodes’ title credits. Each of the show’s main quartet (Donald Glover, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, and LaKeith Stanfield) is so different, yet they somehow mesh so incredibly well together that they make a beautifully chaotic puzzle of creativity. To say they’re in their bag is an absolute understatement. Season Three takes the brilliance of the previous seasons and elevates every aspect to new heights. P.S. THERE ARE ALSO BRILLIANT SHOWS WITHIN THE SHOW. JUST. GO. WATCH!!!
QUENTIN
With seemingly no desire to rest on its laurels, Atlanta reinvents itself in its third season. It’s as hilarious, incisive, and surreal as ever, but instead of focusing on the main characters’ hood struggles, Atlanta becomes a quasi-anthology series that mixes episodes about the now successful Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) navigating Europe with completely unrelated non-sequitur short films. Despite lacking a season-long storyline, each engrossing episode ranges from great to flat-out brilliant. My only real complaint is that the season wasn’t longer. It continues to be one of the best shows on television, and I’ll be sad to see it end next season.
PAIGE
You can take the gang out of Atlanta, but you can’t take the Atlanta out of the gang. After a long hiatus, we journey off to Europe for a weird, wild ride with Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) and his crew, as well as experience some one-off stories along the way. Despite the unique swings this season takes, the show delivers its richest storytelling about black America in the episodes not centered on the main cast, yet, at the same time, I wish we had been able to spend more time with the central characters after such a long time away from them.
ADRIANO
Atlanta is, without question, one of my all-time favorite shows, which is why I’m a little conflicted on this season. On one hand, the humour and surrealness are back in full swing, and its use of comedy to tackle important issues is brilliant. But on the other hand, the season's decision to sideline its main cast in exchange for Jordan Peele-esque short stories under the Atlanta umbrella, four of which didn’t have the main cast at all, was a little disappointing. It’s not that those episodes are bad, but I wanted to see more of the great central characters after waiting four years.