One of the funniest, most inventive, and thought-provoking shows on TV is coming to an end this year. In fact, Atlanta Season 4 premieres on FX on September 15, 2022 — just a few months after its most intriguing and darkest season yet ended with a flat-out insane finale that gave us a lot to think about.
Most pervasively, Season 3 left us wondering just how star and creator Donald Glover and co. intend to top that madness this time. Let’s ponder that even further as we wait for the Emmy-winning dramedy’s final curtain call to appear on our 2022 TV schedule with these questions we have about Atlanta Season 4.
What Is Next For Paper Boi’s Career?
Atlanta Season 3 took place (mostly) in Europe, as the gang followed Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles (Brian Tyree Henry) on a tour across the continent. Now that he and the gang are heading back to the titular Georgian city — based on the Atlanta Season 4 trailer — we are curious what the rapper next has in store.
The answer is hinted at all throughout said trailer, which sees Al after what appears to be a performance at a bar mitzvah, at a recording studio with a yodeling country singer where he, apparently, destroys the control board, getting shot at in a mall, and vocally requesting to watch ESPN from what turns out to be a “regular damn remote.” Considering all of this (not to mention a scene of him shouting loudly in a field at night), Paper Boi could be hitting something of a career low and is closer than ever to reaching his breaking point. He might not be the only one, either.
Will Darius Get More Screen Time In Season 4?
One of the most exciting breakout stars and, undoubtedly, the greatest scene-stealer from the Atlanta cast is Academy Award nominee Lakeith Stanfield. Thus, I, honestly, felt a little disappointed that he did not play a much larger role in Season 3, especially after headlining one of the best Atlanta episodes, “Teddy Perkins.”
Thankfully, the Season 4 trailer does hint that Paper Boi’s eccentric, yet thoughtful, buddy may be featured more prominently this time and might be experiencing some phenomena even more frightening than what we went through in that aforementioned Season 2 episode. In fact, one shot from the teaser seemed to pay tribute to Stanfield’s role in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, showing a half-naked Darius appearing lost and screaming in a strange location that resembles “the Sunken Place.” Now, I have even more questions about this normally chill dude’s well-being.
How Is Van Doing Now, Following Her Interesting Time In Europe?
Someone whose well-being I am especially concerned about is that of Zazie Beetz’s Vanessa, whom we last saw in Atlanta Season 3’s finale, “Tarrare,” speaking in a French accent and beating people with a stale baguette. The origin of this bizarre and violent persona turned out to be an existential crisis spawning from her own insecurities as an unemployed single mother. So, to be frank...is she OK?
That is a hard question to answer based on the trailer alone, which sees Van, supposedly, enjoying a camping trip with Earn and their daughter, Lottie, one moment, but walking alone through some strange dark void (not so different from Darius’ “Sunken Place”) in another. That being said, I would not be surprised if the Bullet Train cast member’s character still had some “dark feelings” to work through before feeling whole. However, the trailer does also hint at a positive development in her relationship with Earn.
Is There Still Hope For Earn And Van Reconciling?
One of the questions about Atlanta Season 3 I had ahead of its premiere was if Van and Earn had a chance of rekindling their romance after it fizzled out in Season 2, but, despite hooking up in the U.K., the answer, ultimately, was no. Yet, the on-and-off couple might be turning over a new leaf based on aforementioned clips from the trailer of a family camping trip and of the pair walking close together. However, I believe that the survival of their relationship this time might depend on Earn’s well-being.
The trailer reveals that Donald Glover’s cash-strapped airport credit card salesperson-turned-music manager is going to therapy in Atlanta Season 4 — something that, honestly, feels way overdue considering his uneven behavior in previous seasons. Of course, the teaser hints that the root of his emotional issues comes from work, most specifically, so maybe Van, along with Lottie, are what help keep his feet on the ground this time. As someone who has been rooting for those two since the beginning, I think seeing them officially make things work would be a great way to close the show.
Should We Expect More Crazy Celebrity Cameos?
The third season of Atlanta had the most bewildering rotation of celebrity guest stars I have seen on any TV series — including Liam Neeson sending-up his own controversial comments from the past and Alexander Skarsgård as an unhinged version of himself. I would love to see more eye-opening cameos in Season 4, and the trailer hints at an appearance by R&B star D’Angelo, for one. Then again, this could be like the time Van went to a New Year’s party at Drake’s house and was greeted with nothing more than a cardboard cutout of the actor-turned-rapper, or when we met this universe’s Black version of Justin Bieber (Austin Crute).
However, we can confidently say that comedian Katt Williams is reprising his Emmy-winning role as Earn’s uncle, Willy (otherwise known as the “Alligator Man”), and The Wire star Isaiah Whitlock, Jr. is also coming back as Earn’s father, Raleigh, for the first time since the pilot episode, “The Big Bang,” from 2016. Maybe we will also see the return of Lakeith Stanfield’s Judas and the Black Messiah co-star, Khris Davis, as the obnoxious and problematic Tracy or Adriyan Rae as Van’s friend, Candice? Hopefully, though, that is accompanied with even more A-listers to really stir the pot for the final season.
Will Atlanta Season 4 Feature More Anthology Episodes?
When Atlanta Season 3 was not keeping tabs on the main gang’s European adventures, it took a surprising turn into an occasional anthology series. Four of its 10 episodes were self-contained stories offering brutally honest social commentary, such as one that imagines a world in which slave reparations have become a reality or another about a Black teen (Tyriq Withers) having a cultural identity crisis on the eve of graduation.
While it proved to be divisive (which might have been the whole point, after all), I really dug the approach as a way to tell new, insightful stories each week and keep things fresh, which the show has always been masterful at from the beginning. I would not necessarily say that I hope to see more one-shot episodes in Atlanta Season 4, as it would be nice to see the focus kept on Earn, Al, Van, and Darius for the show’s the final season, but I would also be glad to see what other striking satires and cautionary tales Donald Glover and co. could cook up.
Will We See The Aftermath Of Season 3, Episode 4 In Season 4?
That anthological episode I mentioned earlier about white people forced to pay slave reparations — called “The Big Payback” — is especially memorable because it is the only one that was confirmed as canon to Atlanta’s own universe. In the Season 3 finale’s mid-credits scene, Earn is accidentally delivered a travel bag belonging to a white man also named Earnest Marks (Tobias Segal), whom Justin Bartha’s character in “The Big Payback” encounters at a hotel. To make matters even creepier, this Earnest also appeared in a dream within a dream that Donald Glover’s Earn had at the very beginning of the season.
Anyway, my point is that we can officially say that Atlanta is set in a world in which slave reparations have been achieved and are now a common thing. I think it would be a grave missed opportunity if this topic wasn’t explored further in some capacity in Season 4.
It is a bittersweet feeling to know that Atlanta Season 4 is on its way, knowing that I will soon be saying farewell to a show that thrilled me to no end with its challenging themes, comically surreal tone, and top-notch acting from a wonderful cast.
If you do not have access to FX, at least be sure you have a Hulu subscription to stream it each week when it returns in September.
