Donald Glover’s Hit Series Has Been Canceled
A hit Donald Glover series has been canceled and won't be returning after its fourth season. This is one of the best ones out there.
A fan-favorite and critically acclaimed Donald Glover show is set to exit FX after its final two seasons with the announcement that Atlanta will no longer continue on the network. The announcement came via Deadline with FX chairman John Landgraf saying that the series would be discontinued following its Season 4 run of episodes. Considering some of the production delays the series has faced over the years, this isn’t a massive surprise to hear that Atlanta would be near the end. Though with this kind of runway it’s likely the show is able to wrap up at least some on their own terms with a couple of seasons already in the can.
In Atlanta, Donald Glover stars as Ernest “Earn” Marks who along with his cousin Alfred “Paper Boi” Mills (Brian Tyree Henry) are working to navigate the rap music scene in the titular town. The show follows Glover’s Earn as he deals with erratic life choices that have left him struggling both financially and emotionally. The series has explored all manner of social themes along the way including racism, socio-economics, family, and the struggles for success within the framework of a modern America. It’s been something of an achievement in its storytelling, using a rather simple premise with a host of captivating and sympathetic (though sometimes maddening) characters. It will be a shame to see this one go.
Donald Glover is the creator behind Atlanta and the series first debuted on FX all the way back in 2016. It received near-universal critical praise for the first season, scoring 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. The follow-up season 2 saw similar accolades, hitting 98% on the review aggregator. And it wasn’t just critics who loved the series. The show’s first two seasons landed it definitively in the awards discussion as well. It was nominated for Emmys in Outstanding Comedy Series as well as Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Glover), and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. And Donald Glover won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the first season as well. It’s been nothing but a triumph since first hitting the network.
But Donald Glover and Atlanta have been on an extended hiatus with the show; no episodes have aired since 2018. While the new season was picked up almost immediately, scheduling difficulties with the main cast as well as issues around the Covid-19 pandemic have extended the timeline for this new season. The original plan was to shoot the third and fourth seasons back-to-back which they did, but more than a year after the originally intended timeline. Filming was finally finished last August and it looks like now the schedule is set. The first episode of Atlanta Season 3 is set to air on FX and Hulu on March 24th.
Following Atlanta, Donald Glover has another production coming soon. He will be starring in a remake of Mr. & Mrs. Smith alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge. A reimagining of the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie team-up should have these two as a married couple who are, unbeknownst to each other, both working as undercover operatives. The series is set for Amazon.
