Ty Watches "Atlanta" Series Premiere

Last night the TV show "Atlanta" premiered. I have been looking forward to this show for some time now. I'm a big, big Donald Glover fan, and when he went into social media silence, stopped making music and left the show "Community", I had no idea what he would do next. He put out a new album a little while after leaving "Community".

That album, "Because the Internet", was great, but it was also a sign that he was going to go into "hiding", if you will. The album talked about the problems with social media, and how bad this stuff can truly get. After that album was out for awhile, Glover was still on Twitter and Instagram, but he shut that down pretty quick. It was a bit frustrating because I wanted to know if he was going to make more music. I love his music. He is an excellent rapper.

I came to find out a little later, a month or two after his media silence, that he was working on a new TV show. But, that was all that was said. No one, except for those close to Glover, knew what the show was going to be. I assumed it was going to be comedy, because he is a very good comedic actor and standup. I actually kind of hoped this new show would meld his music and comedy. But, as I said, no one knew. The people involved with the show did a very good, in fact great, job of keeping the plot and stars and everything quiet about this new project.

About 2 or 3 months ago, commercials for this new show "Atlanta" started to show up on FXX while I was watching "The Simpsons". I first saw Glover, so I got very excited. I thought, like most commercials for new shows, they would let the viewing audience know what the plot was going to be. We would find out what this secret project was finally about. Well, the opposite happened, and it was on purpose. The commercials, that seemed to appear endlessly, made me want to watch the show even more, giving away nothing. The only thing I could glean from the commercials was the fact that Glover was the star, and he had a baby, a girl and a couple of friends. Oh, and the show takes place in Atlanta, obviously. The commercials were actually pretty cool. Some were shot and played in reverse. There is one commercial that has Glover walking out of a house, but it is all done in reverse. It was trippy, weird and awesome. They also had "regular" commercials, but with Glover's spin. They would show Glover's character talking, but they'd switch to a different scene, then another scene, but not to be outdone, they'd show you one more thing that was different. I could not get a grasp on what this show would be about.

A week ago, I was tempted to read a review from an entertainment magazine, but when they got into the meat of the review, and started to reveal things, I stopped reading. I decided that I wanted to see it for myself, with no spoilers. So, after I got home from my Tuesday night basketball, I showered and decided it was time to watch the premiere. There were 2 new episodes last night. I finally got a glimpse of what the show is going to be about.

In "Atlanta", Glover plays a down on his luck screw up named Earnie. He also has a cousin that goes by the name of Paper Boi, that is an up and coming rapper in the music scene in Atlanta. Glover, as I stated above, has a girl, with whom he has a baby with, but they are not a couple. He just occasionally lives with her and his child. Earnie's parents won't hang with him, his cousin is weary of him, his baby's mother does not want to give him the time of day. He is a loner, looking for something to make his life important. When his cousin has a song that is getting talked about via social media, Earnie decides that he wants to be his manager. At first, everyone thinks this is a bad idea, but Earnie won't quit. His father even tells Paper Boi, "Earnie is a hard worker, but he is going to do things on his own terms. By any means necessary". This lets Paper Boi know all he needs to know, and he is on board with letting Earnie be his manager.

There is a whole bunch of other stuff that happened in the 2 part premiere. There is a shooting incident. There is a great through line in the second episode in a holding area of a jail. There are great, short bursts of comedy throughout. Glover has done a show on his own terms, and it is wonderful. The premiere more than lived up to the hype for me. I cannot wait to watch more of "Atlanta".

This is a very new idea in an age of remakes and reboots. Glover has a totally original idea, and it is an absolute home run. And for the people out there that are mad and upset with the fact that Glover has left comedy and music for awhile, calm down. He is giving us this great, one of a kind new show and it is awesome. Go watch "Atlanta" right now. This show is going to be great for years to come, as long as Glover keeps his stamp on it. I really, really like this show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Check out all the other shows that Ty watches. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.