I've noticed that I've been having trouble with sitcoms lately, or more specifically that I can't seem to find one that will hold my attention for very long. I don't know if it's that the humor is not to my taste or that I need something with more narrative momentum to keep me interested, but since "The Good Place" went off the air, the only episodic comedies I've been watching tend to be animated ones like "Rick and Morty."
So, I went into "Atlanta," one of the shows that's been on my "To Watch" list for way too long, hoping for the best. At this point "Atlanta" has been widely recognized as being one the best, and most innovative African-American-centric television comedies. The entire core cast is highly sought after, and have all showed up in major films over the past few years. I'm not surprised that there's been such a long delay between the second and third seasons because everybody has been busy even before the lockdown.
The series stars Donald Glover as "Earn" Marks, a Princeton dropout who has been reduced to odd jobs and low level grifting to scrape by. He becomes the manager of his cousin Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles (Brian Tyree Henry), an upcoming rapper and fairly affluent drug dealer. The third banana of their trio is Darius (Lakeith Stanfield), a genial weirdo with a talent for getting himself into odd situations. Most of the series follows the three of them trying to boost Alfred's rap career or trying to hustle for funds. We also regularly see Earn's on-again-off-again girlfriend Vanessa (Zazie Beetz), the mother of their infant daughter Lottie.
"Atlanta" reminds me of much older comedy acts, because the characters are all operating at or below the lowest rung on the socioeconomic ladder. Earn balefully hocking his cel phone for quick cash or trying to buy a fast food kids' meal to eat himself, are all too relatable problems, but they're the kind of thing we've seen so much less of as sitcom families have become more affluent over the years. At the same time, Earn and his friends are put in a position to observe and comment on the foibles of the middle class and the media in a way that most TV characters aren't. My favorite episode so far has been the one with Earn and Vanessa's date, where a waitress keeps mercilessly upselling them to the point where Earn's only recourse is to report his debit card stolen. A big part of "Atlanta" is playing around with the stereotypes attached to rappers and black culture, but they've also happily skewered social media influencers, gun culture, and talent agents so far.
And I've found it all very accessible, despite having next to no working knowledge about rap music or Atlanta. All the characters are likeable and the performers are wildly charismatic. I could watch Lakeith Stanfield read the phone book as Darius. The show that "Atlanta" reminds me of the most is "Louie," since it has a similar tone that's a mix of comedy and drama, and uses occasional touches of surrealism and formal experimentation. Justin Bieber is black in the "Atlanta" universe, for instance. I'm also looking forward to the notorious "Teddy Perkins" episode coming up in the second season, which features a creepy whiteface character based loosely on Michael Jackson. "Atlanta" also feels very personal to Donald Glover's own experiences growing up - he and his younger brother Stephen have writing credits on the bulk of the episodes. Hiro Murai, who has been turning out increasingly wonderful projects over the last few years, directed all the episodes I watched.
Still, I have to admit that it's probably going to be a struggle for me to get through the rest of "Atlanta," as short as it is. It has nothing to do with the quality or subject matter of the show, and everything to do with the fact that it is an episodic sitcom. At the end of every episode, Earn, Alfred, and Darius more or less go back to their status quo, and can be expected to stay there. And I find it harder and harder to stick with these slice-of-life comedies that don't have some serialized element to keep me more engaged. I never made it past the first season of "Louie" or "Master of None" because of the same issues.
I enjoy "Atlanta," but the sparks just aren't there.
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