Atlanta

[thirtyframesasecond]

Just caught up with the full season of Donald Glover's 'Atlanta'. It's a great show. A comedy-drama which takes a very honest look at the lives of African-Americans barely making a living. Glover's a College dropout with a (ex) girlfriend and daughter struggling to provide for them. His cousin's a rapper named Paper Boi who's blowing up and Glover becomes his manager. Throw in discussions on transphobia, racial identity and class (even within the African-American community) and Atlanta feels like the most relevant show around. The humour is very strange - there's an episode that seems to riff on the Rachel Dolezal thing but then riffs on Caitlin Jenner at the same time...oh yeah and Justin Bieber is in it....only it's an African-American rapper playing Justin Bieber. Features a lot of Atlanta artists that are currently on the scene (Migos) - and the new Childish Gambino album is brilliant too!

[jazzo]

I agree wholeheartedly. It's a beautiful, humanistic work by someone who is clearly an artist, though a lot of folks might hesitate to call him one, with a drive to create things in different mediums, always using his distinct voice. I like loved every episode; every second of it; the way it floats between drama and tragedy, but all tinged with an absurdist's eye for satire.

More later. I have to go play soccer.

[Murdoch]

I think given the latest episode it's time for a bump to this thread. This show's ability to significantly shift focus from one episode to the next can give a sense of whiplash, but when it produces something as effective as Teddy Perkins it's worth the inconsistent tone. Glover is using this as a vehicle to explore whatever topic or genre he wants to and when it works, it's the best thing on TV or streaming. It also allows episodes like "Teddy Perkins" to come out of nowhere and bowl me over. Only in this show could you have a horror short about a Michael Jackson-esque recluse and the episode before it one focused entirely on Paper Boi trying to get his barber to finish a haircut.