Atlanta is (finally) coming back and Donald Glover is (justifiably) feeling himself. A trailer for the acclaimed show’s third season came out on Halloween, striking an eerie tone that recalls Season 2’s “Teddy Perkins” and has fans enthralled.
The one-minute clip captures the surreal flavor of Atlanta, featuring dimly lit shots of empty concert venues, art installations, and hotel rooms. The only character we see is Brian Tyree Henry’s Paper Boi, looking glassy-eyed at a table in an ornate room where two attendants stand with their faces to the wall. The screeching strings that play over the shot recall trailers for Jordan Peele’s Us and Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor.
The phrase “It’s after the end of the world, don’t you know that yet?” echoes in the background, a sample from Sun Ra’s 1970 song “Strange Dreams – Strange Worlds – Black Myth / It’s After the End of the World.”
Curiously, this trailer was first hosted on a website called Gilga.com. When you click the link on the minimalist page during the day, a message pops up, “While under construction, Gilga is a ‘nite-site.’ Operational hours are 8 p.m. – 3 a.m.”
Glover also stoked the flames of an intra-network beef in a series of since-deleted Tweets about Dave, Lil Dicky’s autofiction series that runs on FXX. Last year, Dave surpassed Atlanta in “average episodic audience,” according to Deadline, and comparisons have been made between the shows, both of which tackle the music industry and have roots in hip-hop and comedy.
“And just for the record, I’m watching y’all sayin’ Dave is on par. Like y’all forgot what we did,” he wrote. “No disrespect.” He followed that up with: “We got Black people on here debating which is better and I’m the sellout?”
Season 2 of Atlanta concluded in May 2018; since then, director Hiro Murai and writer Stephen Glover teamed up for Guava Island, an hour-long film that stars Donald Glover and Rihanna. The elder Glover also released 3.15.20, his fourth album as Childish Gambino, last year.
The cast and crew traveled to Europe to shoot this latest season, going from London to Amsterdam to Paris. Per Deadline, Season 4 will also feature some scenes in Europe, though both will involve the titular hip-hop mecca, as well. The third season of Atlanta is due out in the first half of 2022, and, with any luck, Season 4 should be out sometime before 2038.