‘Atlanta’ Seasons 3 and 4 Delayed as Filming Start Dates Moves to Early 2021
The long wait for “Atlanta” Season 3 is… not nearly over. Though the show was originally slated to return in January 2021, the ongoing production hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic means that work on “Atlanta” Season 3 will not be able to resume until next year.
FX Networks and FX Productions chairman John Landgraf stated in a press conference on Wednesday that the “Atlanta” team aims to resume production in early 2021. The season would be released later in the year, though a specific release date was not provided.
There is a silver lining: Landgraf said the writers on “Atlanta” have been productive throughout the last few months and have written the entirety of the show’s upcoming third and fourth seasons. The third and fourth seasons of “Atlanta” will be shot back-to-back, which was the original production plan back in 2019. Landgraf also thanked “Donald Glover and his intrepid team” for their writing work during the pandemic.
Glover stars in the series as Earn, a young man who attempts to help his rapper cousin launch his career while working to improve his and his daughter’s lives. The series also stars Brian Tyree Henry, Lakeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz. Glover also serves as an executive producer and director on the first two seasons.
Though production has been delayed due to the pandemic, scheduling is another factor, as the cast will need to work during an unusually long stretch to produce two seasons at once, according to Landgraf.
“Atlanta” Season 3 was originally ordered in June 2018, less than a month after the show’s sophomore season concluded. Before the coronavirus shut down most Hollywood productions, the lengthy gap between “Atlanta” Season 2 and 3 was attributed to Glover’s busy schedule. Glover recently starred as Simba in Disney’s live-action remake of “The Lion King” and released his fourth studio album in March.
“Atlanta” has been a standout success for FX since the show’s first season premiered in 2016 and has enjoyed a strong critical reception. Glover won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2017 for his work on the show. IndieWire lauded “Atlanta” Season 2 as the second best show of 2018 due to its boundary-pushing comedy.
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