Telling the scenario is a challenge as the series “Atlanta” is rich and indefinable. Brilliant too. And season 3, which started on March 25 on OCS, should hold the line. The first three episodes are online, but the following will be in dribs and drabs, one a week (next episode April 11).
For those who do not know this jewel of black humor with a disillusioned look at society (the first two seasons are on Disney +), you must first make the introductions. Earn, Paper Boi, Darius and Vanessa live in Atlanta, capital of the state of Georgia, USA. Earn, a brilliant student from a prestigious university but struggling to find a job, becomes the manager of his cousin Alfred, alias Paper Boi, a rapper propelled to star thanks to a hit. Darius, their perched and whimsical buddy, follows them on their adventures. Earn must also manage his relationship with Vanessa, with whom he had a daughter. In this season 3, the band finds itself in European capitals, for a tour of Paper Boi.
The unvarnished portrait of a society of excess
No question of reducing the program to a series on the middle of rap. “Atlanta” is much more than that. With a slightly surrealist look, mixing absurdity and poetry, director Donald Glover (who also plays the character of Earn) delivers a scathing critique of our time.
Coming from the world of stand-up and also a rapper, this jack-of-all-trades brilliantly paints an unvarnished portrait of a society of excess and clichés in search of itself. The excesses of the “woke” movement, ordinary racism, the excesses of capitalism and social networks are discussed, but always in a subtle, nuanced and hilarious way. The characters, a bit lost in their thirties, often find themselves overwhelmed by the most ubiquitous situations. They are our own gaze.
The series takes its time, without ever going easy. We don’t know what to expect, scriptwriting finds abound, but the story always lands on its feet. The images are licked and we savor every minute of this story. Classy and disillusioned.
« Atlanta », season 3 on OCS. Next episode posted on April 11.