Donald Glover Shares Why His Show “Atlanta” Has An All Black Writing Staff

Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino has a new show “Atlanta” coming out on FX networks. Glover has finally revealed the premise of the show in his Vulture Magazine interview (read below for description), but as it gets closer to its September 6th premiere date; more is being revealed. 

“Atlanta”‘s premise is about two cousins who live in there. Earn, Glover’s character, wants to help manage his cousin Paper Boi’s new career as a rapper. Paper Boi, played by Brian Tyree Henry, sells drugs with his friend and adviser Darius (Keith Stanfield). Earn knows all about the drug world, but does not participant. The show will also incorporate Earn balancing between his origins and a life often spent in predominantly white settings, much like Glover himself.

Glover recently spoke with Vulture Magazine about his show, and how he wanted to have a different show, but also had elements of truth, drama, and comedy within the African-American community. “I wanted to show White people, you don’t know everything about Black culture,” Glover told Vulture. Glover created, co-wrote, executive-produced, and acts in the Atlanta, which he calls a dramedy. One of the original suggestions from the FX network was for Paper Boi to live in a  run-down and “traplike” house/apartment. “We were like, ‘No, he’s a drug dealer, he makes enough money to live in a regular apartment,’ ” Glover said. “There were some things so subtle and black that people had no idea what we were talking about.”

One of the actors purposefully delivered his line in a way that you would only understand if you grew up in Atlanta. The director didnt even understand him. “That character is an artifact. Culturally, we’re becoming very homogenized. That dude isn’t going to be around in seven years. You aren’t going to be able to find him. White people are moving into Bankhead,” one of the historically blackest neighborhoods in Atlanta. Glover paused. “It’s important that dude gets represented in this show.”

“I needed people to understand I see Atlanta as a beautiful metaphor for black people,” Glover has many goals with “Atlanta,” one being to reflect the criticism he has received for years with his popularity in white culture. “I know when I go to Baltimore, when I go to D.C., it’s like 50-50—half of them are like, ‘I love this dude, this dude’s cool.’ And the other half are like, ‘This coon-ass dude,'” he said. “But I have no hate in my heart for no Black person ever. Because we’re in a position where the system has fucked us up so bad we can’t always trust each other.”