What to watch while you wait for ‘Atlanta’ S3
Donald Glover has announced that season 3 of Atlanta will be a lot like Kanye West’s third album Graduation, meaning that it’ll be a lot lighter than season 2 and a bit more accessible. But given the writers room for season 3 is only just converging, that means there’ll be quite a wait until Atlanta S3 actually hits the airwaves.
In the meantime, here are ten other shows that Atlanta fans should love that might fill that Glover-sized hole in your weekly TV schedule.
The Last O.G.
Jordan Peele (Get Out) and Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) executive-produce this new take on an old tale. Morgan plays a man just out of prison after 15 years who returns home to Brooklyn only to find it’s a victim of gentrification. The show is funny and heartfelt, with a strong supporting cast featuring the brilliant Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) and the always entertaining Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop).
Barry
Alec Berg (Silicon Valley) and Bill Hader (The Skeleton Twins) have teamed up with HBO to make this brilliant dark comedy about a hitman who, like Laurence Olivier* before him, wants to give up killing people for money to instead “crack the boards”. Barry works on a lot of levels, not least tapping into that part of most of us who at one point in our lives have said, “I should become an actor-slash-contract killer.”
Crashing
Pete Holmes (Don’t Think Twice) and Judd Apatow’s (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) show about a struggling New York comedian is going from strength to strength. Similarly to Barry, Crashing works on that small part of all of us that has thought, “I should become a standup comedian and potentially homeless guy trying to be a standup comedian.”
Crashing also features Artie Lange, which is always good to see as you know that he’s still working and is hopefully staying far away from that sweet, sweet smack.
The Chi
Starring the quite brilliant Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton), the show is set around a fateful turn of events that sends shockwaves through the community of the Southside of Chicago. As Rotten Tomatoes describes it, “It’s like an optimistic companion to The Wire.”
Insecure
Lucky for you if you haven’t seen it, as that means you’ve got two whole seasons to gorge yourself on with S3 also set to air in August. Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore’s show has earned many positive reviews (and also two Golden Globe nominations for Rae as Best Actress) and it’s easy to see why. The show is heartfelt, funny, and honest. What more do you want exactly?
Killing Eve
This British production for BBC America may have spent a little time in production hell (it was first commissioned in 2016) but it got out of the stalls so well that S2 is already being developed.
Killing Eve follows Sandra Oh (Sideways) as an MI5 agent and Jodie Comer (The White Princess) as a psychopathic killer who both become obsessed with each other. No one dreams of becoming an actor, rapper, or standup comedian, but it’s still a great series balancing layers of different tones as masterfully as Atlanta does.
Twin Peaks: The Return
With Donald Glover himself once saying Atlanta is like “Twin Peaks with rappers,” it only makes sense that you should watch it. David Lynch‘s “return” to the small surreal town with a shit ton of secrets has everything you’d expect from Lynch (Mulholland Drive) and by that we mean you likely won’t expect or understand anything that happens. But you’ll still be drawn in and blown away.
Trust
Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) takes on the famous story of the richest man in the world and the grandson who tried to swindle him by arranging his own kidnapping. The series has been with hit with some legal battles but that shouldn’t put you off as a viewer.
If you’ve seen All the Money in the World by Ridley Scott, which told the same story a little differently, then this FX original show will definitely be worth a peak (especially if you want to hear the story told from a different point of view – a bit like Rashomon).
The Good Place
The hit NBC comedy has been on since 2016 and will soon be entering S3, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to catch up. The show is genuinely funny and features a brilliant cast which includes the evergreen and ever brilliant Ted Danson (Curb Your Enthusiasm). If the more surreal side of Atlanta is a huge part of your love for the show, you’ll love The Good Place. Just make sure you stick with it until the end of S1 where there’s a shockingly good payoff.
Flint Town
The show is a documentary series and also very low (like, empty) on any kind of laughs, but this Netflix Originals show delves deep into the socio-political problems faced in many inner cities in America right now. Lack of police funding, drug problems, and more all feature in this show that might not be groundbreaking, but certainly is eye opening.
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*May not be a legit fact about Oliver’s pre-thespian past!
