Pop Culture

Donald Glover on 'Atlanta': "I Just Wanted to Make a 'Twin Peaks' With Rappers"

He wants to film at Murder Kroger.

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Complex Original

The pilot episode for Donald Glover's Atlanta, one of this year's most anticipated TV shows, just screened at the the 2016 Television Critics Association Convention, and it's lit. Glover wrote and stars in the comedy as Earnest "Earn" Marks, a young rapper who's just starting out in Atlanta's music scene. Brian Tyree Henry plays Marks' cousin, Alfred Miles, who's already a glowing success in the industry. Marks offers his managerial skills to Henry, and (we can assume) antics ensue.

After the screening Glover, Henry, and their co-stars Keith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. talked about what they were hoping to achieve with the show. Glover's comments suggest Atlanta will be less of a lighthearted comedy than any of his previous projects; he compared it both to Twin Peaks and to a novel.

The way the cast talks about it, the city of Atlanta (where they actually filmed) had a heavy influence on the show. Also, you know, Murder Kroger.

And, most importantly, Atlanta finally has a premiere date (sort of).

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