We’ve said it countless times—our sense of time has been completely warped in 2020. For example, this week is a short week due to the recent Labor Day holiday and yet it still feels like it should’ve been Friday three days ago. (Editor’s Note: Seriously, how is it only Thursday???)
And yet, I still have a very clear view of just how fucking long we’ve been waiting for a new season of Atlanta! As a reminder, we’ve been waiting for some new heat since 2018. But like, multiply that by 50-11 because of 2020’s time warp.
Well, according to Variety, the previous delay of the acclaimed FX TV series’ new seasons has been extended to an even further delay due to none other than the coronavirus pandemic.
FX Networks and FX Productions chairman John Landgraf confirmed during a fall lineup press conference that the network has plans to begin production in early 2021 and debut the third season later in the year. Previously, the plan was to release the third season in January 2021 with the fourth season premiering later that fall.
Deadline gives more background:
The third and fourth seasons of “Atlanta” were written together and will be shot that way as well. (Landgraf did say that “Donald Glover and his intrepid team” were able to finish writing over the last few months.) One season is set and will primarily be shot in Atlanta, Ga., as per usual, but the other takes place in Europe.
But the “availability” of the seasons were being pushed back, in part because of when the show could resume production safely, as well as due to the scheduling of the cast to resume working on the longer stretch of production that is two seasons at once.
Landgraf shared that cast and crew safety was the “No. 1 priority” and that includes not only new practices and procedures, such as testing, social distancing and contract tracing, but also simply giving them access to doctors and epidemiologists.
First off, I’d also rather the cast and crew’s safety take priority over my desire for entertainment and curiosity about the series’ evolution. Also, since I’ve already had to reconcile with the fact that we have to wait so long between new seasons anyway, I have gotten used to the…“limbo” of it all at this point. Maybe that’s because living through 2020 means that we’ve all gotten used to a general sense of purgatory? What will this damn year throw at us next? Who the hell knows...
To be honest, since 2020 has been full of unexpected surprises (whether good, bad, alarming, sad, or plain wild), the true 2020-esque moment would be if show creator Donald Glover just randomly dropped both seasons simultaneously, like a modern Beyoncé album.