Donald Glover dropped us a link on the final day of spooky season and treated us to a new and pretty ominous trailer for the third season of Atlanta.
Several voices chanted, “It’s after the end of the world. Don’t you know that yet?” over menacing musical chords and unpredictable B-roll shots. We even got a glimpse of Paper Boi, played by Brian Tyree Henry, before “2022” appeared on the screen.
And I am living.
If you haven’t watched Atlanta, the award-winning, not-quite-comedy-not-quite-drama produced and starred in by Donald Glover, then you better catch up because the new season is expected to air in the first half of 2022. You’ve been warned.
Here’s the trailer that dropped Sunday:
In August, FX Chairman John Landgraf held a virtual Q & A, Indie Wire reports, and he confirmed that both the third and fourth season are gearing up to drop. Season 2 wrapped in May 2018.
“We haven’t locked down the scheduling for Season 3 yet,” Landgraf said, according to Indie Wire. “It’s finished shooting. It shot primarily in Europe, actually, and it’s in post-production, but it’s a lengthy post-production process. Part of the reason it’s lengthy is because they’re in production on Season 4 right now in Atlanta.”
Notable stars from the show are LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz.
From Indie Wire:
“The reason I can’t lock down a date right now is that it’s being driven by Donald Glover and Hiro Murai’s schedule and availability,” Landgraf said, mentioning that they’re working on post-production on Season 3 and production on Season 4 simultaneously, which complicates the timeline. “I think we’ll be able to lock down an actual date for Season 3 and maybe for both cycles within the next couple of months.”
“Atlanta” returning in the first half of 2022 sets the stage for a welcome return to the Emmys, so long as it meets the May 31, 2022 submission requirements. The first two seasons combined for 22 nominations and five wins at the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies, including trophies for Donald Glover in the Directing and Lead Actor categories.
Atlanta has always mastered taking the boundaries and safe guards off of how social issues, struggle and Blackness is portrayed on a sitcom, a genre of television that doesn’t have many of us to begin with. I’m excited to see the new ways Atlanta will take the collective Black experience of 2020 and turn it into a relatable cinematic treasure trove.