Atlanta (Season 3)

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

A slight step down this season, but I still feel like this show is maybe the most important show on TV. It explores race in a way nothing else does, and this season they aren't even in America!

This season has this very weird format where we basically never see the main characters? There are 4 standalone bottle episodes that don't contain any of the characters and are basically short films on race in America. They are hilarious, and bizarre, and upsetting, and I thought very powerful. It just really disconnects the season, and I have had a hard time reconciling the parallel stories this season is telling.

For the more conventional episodes, I love that tons of time has passed. Paper Boi is doing great, and Earn is a solid manager, so the angle of poverty is basically gone, and so are the streets of Atlanta. We are touring Europe, and it is a delight to see these unique characters in such strange waters. I think that adjustment is actually incredibly difficult, and they nailed it.

There are some classic Atlanta episodes in this season, but I do think they went off the deep end in a couple, taking the bizarreness to a whole other level. The finale was disappointing, and did too much where I think a more subtle and downplayed exploration of a characters search for meaning would have been more effective. But other episodes still had me laughing out loud, with every hilarious Brian Tyree Henry reaction.

Speaking of the actors, the core 3 are just incredible. The level of talent for all 3 of them is through the roof, and it is a joy to see them on screen together every week. That's probably why the vignettes were so frustrating, I just want to see Paper Boi and Darius goofing around!

It sounds pretentious to say this show is important, but I actually do feel that it will be a defining piece of art for this time, and I have already noticed other shows taking inspiration from it. The worst episodes of this show are better than the best episodes of most other shows, but I have to rate it against its other seasons.

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