"I had a weird dream,” confides Earn, played by Donald Glover, to his girlfriend at the start of his dream-like dramedy, Atlanta.
The ubiquitous Glover, who also performs as singer Childish Gambino of This Is America fame and starred as smuggler Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, plays budding music manager Earnest “Earn” Marks in this distinctive series, which has been a huge hit in the States.
The affable but slightly despondent Earn is on his uppers, with a very young daughter, Lottie, and an on-off teacher girlfriend Van (Zazie Beetz), the mother of his child. Their tangy relationship fluctuates from gentle and light-hearted to contentious and spiteful — a financially ruinous date night between the pair at a hip restaurant is particularly affecting.
Earn’s career plan is to manage his cousin and up-and-coming rapper, Alfred, aka Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), who is also involved in the local drugs trade with his best pal, Darius Epps (Lakeith Stanfield). Earn, Vanessa, Alfred and Darius are the four core members of this highly satirical show, which boldly tackles mental health — the episode in which Earn waits to be processed in jail is excellent on the subject — bigotry (Justin Bieber recast as a black artist is something to behold), and poverty in urban America.
That’s not to say it’s overly earnest. It’s often absurd, even surreal, and the scene where Earn demands a kids’ meal in a restaurant and is refused is inspired. Like the best TV, you care (and empathise) for all the main characters, especially Earn who just can’t catch a break.
Oddly, in fact, Atlanta mirrors British sitcoms with its likeable protagonists trapped by their environment. It’s a show you just have to watch.
Atlanta Series 1 is on BBC2 now. Series 2 starts on FOX UK, 17 June
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