2) Atlanta
Donald Glover was an artist waiting to find a calling card of his own, and he found that —and then some —with Atlanta, his remarkably confident, entirely impressive and richly surreal freshman FX series that’s accomplished well beyond its years. Where everything from his sweetly winning supporting performance in Community, to his energetic stand-up comedy, to his pop culture-heavy lyrics as his rapper alter-ego Childish Gambino could be traced back to his influences, Atlanta is a bold, impassioned work all his own.
Beautifully bizarre, culturally attuned, hilariously gutsy and stingingly pointed, it’s at once Glover’s greatest accomplishment and an inspired series that’s destined to help define our wild generation. Aided by compelling turns from Brian Tyree Henry, Keith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz and Glover himself, it’s the show that the actor’s been destined to make for years now. With offers to star in future Spider-Man and Star Wars installments, it’s certainly not going to be the last we hear from the immensely talented young artist. Rather, it’s just the start of a wonderfully promising new direction.
Published: Dec 30, 2016 10:30 am