FX’s ‘Atlanta’ Critical Roundup: Donald Glover’s New Comedy Is The Must See New Show This Fall
“Atlanta” marks the return of Donald Glover to television after his portrayal of a naïve athlete on “Community” and a rap career under the pseudonym Childish Gambino. He serves as executive producer and stars as Earnest “Earn” Marks alongside Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Darius (Lakeith Stanfield), and Van (Zazie Beetz). “Atlanta” centers around Earn, a Princeton dropout, who decides to become his cousin’s manager after a hit mixtape. Despite the possible rags-to-riches premise, “Atlanta” is more about surviving than a story of rising fame.
READ MORE: ‘Atlanta’: Donald Glover to Make TV Directorial Debut with Two Episodes
Indiewire’s Ben Travers feels the show shows immense promise, despite some issues it is still trying to figure out:
“Glover’s confidence is easily adopted; the grace and intelligence in which he handles every level of this personal production makes me believe what’s coming will respond to any perceived flaws within the first four episodes.”
The NY Times’ James Poniewozik finds Atlanta a delightful dry comedy that focuses on the basic struggle to survive:
“All the more reason it’s a delight to find “Atlanta,” an idiosyncratic hangout with a crew whose members, in a genre that lionizes making it big, would be glad to make it medium.”
Variety’s Sonia Saraiya feels the slow humor and genuine characters represent a comedy show for this generation:
“FX has experimented a lot with comedy over the years, with varying degrees of success. This model, evidently, is one that works.”
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter congratulates Glover and director Hiro Murai for their honest depiction of real life:
“What makes it all work is that aforementioned vibe, that sense that permeates the show of Glover painting a very particular slice of life, in a story that exists only to tell that story honestly and at a pace that seems real, not manufactured for a TV series.”
“Atlanta” premieres tonight at 10:00pm on FX.
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