Stephen Glover talks about the success of ‘Atlanta’, a nuanced third season

This story was created in a paid partnership with FX.

Executive producer and screenwriter Stephen Glover has always had a knack for pairing atlantaHe speaks with distinctive humor funny witty witty about what really matters. The highly anticipated third season of the series, with its bottleneck episodes and surreal stories, combines a collection of seemingly disjointed stories to explore a central theme: The Curse of the White, not just in America, but across the world.

for that atlantaGlover and the show’s writers revived the theme during the quartet’s trip to Europe: Ernie (Donald Glover) and his cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry) take their rap careers to new heights on the Paper Boi’s European tour. , His good friend Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) is set to travel. Van (Zazi Bitz) also meets the trio, but on a very different route, as he uses the trip to escape life in Atlanta and discover who he really should be.

Written by Stephen and Donald Glover, the season opener “Three Slaps” sets the tone for what to expect right away: Inspired by the Hart family murders, the standalone episode recreates the story of a white lesbian couple. that were killed. Themselves and their six black adopted children in 2018. It tackles black identity, class, and our many failed social systems with effective comedic simplicity, striking a unique balance that illuminates every episode of the final season.

Read our interview with Stephen Glover:

The third season had several separate episodes that did not feature the lead role. How did you arrive at this format?

After watching Season 3, I think a lot of people felt like we should have said, ‘Oh, we can’t find these actors because they’re too busy, so let’s do something else’, which wasn’t the case. . It was a deliberate decision. As we were talking about story ideas in the writers’ room, we kept coming back to these fun ideas that had nothing to do with the main characters. We followed up with more ideas and decided to tell some stories.

Why set the season in Europe?

Most of us have been to Europe or outside the US, I think we all had the feeling that we came from Atlanta or a very black city, went to this new world and realized how different everything was from what you already knew. I think it was such an interesting ceiling that our heroes came out. It was also an easy way to get a free trip to Europe. [Laughs.] It was really nice to be there after COVID because there weren’t many tourists. I had a great time, Amsterdam was beautiful.

It was interesting how you revived how identity politics is set up differently in Europe. “Sinterklaas Is Coming to Town,” an episode where Paper Boi refuses to perform because the audience is black, was a perfect example of this.

There’s always something like that when you travel outside of the United States as a black person, where people say, ‘America is disgusting.’ “Don’t worry, you’re here now and you’re not racist.” And we were like, ‘Really?’ writers day atlanta During the filming of this other show in London, a racist incident took place where the Grenfell Tower, this residential project where many black people lived, caught fire. White Brits, of course, thought, “Oh, that’s sad.” And then black people say, “Man, that’s really racist because this place has always been dangerous.” And this is Chelsea, which is this wealthy part of town and [it felt like people] They always wanted the building to land, so no precautions were taken. When you start talking to black people or people from other cultures, you see that something is still happening, but it reflects very differently.

The “Curse of the White” appeared in many different ways throughout the season. How did you start studying this topic?

When we entered the Writers’ Room, we talked about various subjects that interested us and realized that these ideas were surrounded by the concept of “What is whiteness?” I’m from Atlanta and South Georgia, so there’s a lot of racist history. But there are some things that are undeniable that you see everywhere. That’s where the idea of ​​our heroes going to Europe came from: they see the world in a bigger context for the first time: “Oh, these aren’t just black and white in America. This is the world.”

Why did you choose “Three Slaps” to open the season?

We were all very stoned from that episode. First, it’s standalone, so we weren’t sure if we could open the season like that. But Donald was in the mood for it. Second, I think it will set you up for the rest of the season, especially when you come in and have no idea what to expect next. This season is really like that: you get into something cold and you don’t know where to go from there.

There’s also the character of White Earn, represented in “Three Slaps,” who reappears throughout the season and closes it. Which is?

I think it’s a curse of whiteness personified. From the beginning of the season, he was portrayed as something of a ghost or ghost. Then we see him alive, and then we see him die. At the same time, he seems to have a great sense of what’s going on. He is the embodiment of this curse and how difficult it is for you to avoid it.

The next atlanta?

We’re going back to Atlanta next season so everyone can relax and stop sending me hateful messages. [Laughs.] We’re going to come back with all these new things that we’ve learned and these new experiences that we’ve had abroad, which I think is interesting for black people. As soon as you get home after your mind expands, you might not fit in or your perspective has changed, and that makes your home feel like an outsider. My mantra for season three was “Have fun”. So we did. Black people need more fun. That’s my problem. I think Darius says this is one of the biggest problems with black people. They need to have more fun. Everyone should watch season three and talk to friends about it, and do it in person. Online, you don’t have enough characters.