Donald Glover and the creators of Atlanta discuss Atlanta Season one & Season two at Carnegie Hall.
After an amazing first season and countless accolades including two Golden Globes, Donald Glover and company came to New York for Emmy considerations earlier this week. In addition to the For Your Consideration carpet, Donald Glover also performed at Governor’s Ball last weekend where he announced to fans that his next album will be his last. Speculation that season 2 will not air until 2018 also raised many questions for fans.
Regarding his final album, Donald Glover discussed that everything should have an end, especially if it no longer serves its original purpose and shared some details about the upcoming project with us. We also caught up with co-director Hiro Murai and co-writer Stephen Glover, who discussed their experiences from the first season. Check out the full interview below:
Hiro
Can you talk about the overall experience of being able to direct the first season of Atlanta?
It’s been a dream really not only do I love the show, it was made with all the friends that we’ve been working with for the past few years so it felt like a very homegrown project. To be out there and be embraced the way the show has been is a really incredible experience.
What was your favorite episode to direct?
I love the second episode a lot “Streets On Lock” where Donald is in jail for the entire episode we had to explore a lot of local casting and it was more about the city and the environment than the main characters.
How authentic/realistic do you think this portrayal is of an artist in Atlanta or and an artist trying to make it in general?
I think it’s true and that the music industry is very much the Wild West right now especially in hip-hop. You can really make it or not make it through any means. That’s one thing about the show, it feels very out of control at all times, but obviously the show’s a little bit more heightened than reality, we’re exaggerating certain things.
What was your favorite song that was featured in any of the episodes from season 1?
I love the Outkast track featured at the very end of the season. I grew up in the 90s era so Outkast is really close to my heart so it was really nice to bring that track into the context of the show. I just feel like it was such a fitting ending for the season.
Can you tell us anything about season two?
We haven’t started production yet but we are prepping and scripting and all those things.
Who are you currently listening to?
Shabazz Palaces has a new album coming out and I’ve heard a little bit in advance and they’re just magicians.
Stephen
How has it been to work with your brother on set?
It’s cool, it’s been super easy. Feels very natural because we do that type of stuff anyways all the time. We’ll just joke around and bounce ideas off each other so it’s super easy super natural. It’s probably not fair that my first writing experience got to be so easy-going.
Did you always want to be a writer?
I always felt like I was a really good writer, but I just didn’t know what to do with it. I’ve always had teachers say, “you know what Stephen, you’re a good writer.” I didn’t know what that meant for a long time and thought “am I supposed to write books?” I realized how you can apply it to so many different things. I realized that this is really what I wanted to do – tell stories, write movies – I just didn’t know how to get there.
Did you and Donald ever work together on any projects while growing up?
All types of stuff. This is like an old reference but, Donald used to have a Talkboy from the Home Alone movies and we used to just record funny stuff on it all the time. We also might have invented memes. We used to take the clipart from PowerPoint and write funny stuff on it just to make each other laugh.
Did you ever think that the two of you would be working on a show together?
That’s another crazy story because I remember when I went to college, I had seen Donald right before I left and he put a letter in my bag saying have a good time blah blah blah…I have this dream that you and me and are working on a show together and I feel it’s gonna happen one day? Yeah he called it and it ended up happening. I didn’t expect it to happen really.
What was your favorite episode from last season?
The commercial ban episode, Black Justin Bieber, second episode, in jail – that was my first script so I was really happy with how that turned out, there’s something in each of them that I really like. Every episode has a moment that I feel really good about.
What was your favorite song from the last season?
OJ Da Juice Man, “No Hook” that opened up the season, it was perfect.
Donald
Any artists or music that’s already been scheduled for the second season?
Yeah, haha I want you to be surprised. I really want to tell you, but then people will be like “I was expecting that” so there’s definitely people who he audience will think are funny and cool and interesting.
In terms of your upcoming, final album what can we expect conceptually and production wise?
I’m just interested in making functional art, I think things that aren’t functional people don’t really have the time to think about. Art used to be something that you could sit and think about. I think art has to almost physically move you. I think Kendrick did a really good job of doing that, “Humble” really does something and it’s functional and you can see how it affects kids. I just want to make something that’s functional to your life.
What was your favorite song from the last season?
That’s a good question. I really like old school shit, so like “Masquerade” which was in my van episode I really liked that. I really like anything by all those kinds of cats like Bill Withers.
