The Emmy-winning FX show Atlanta has returned for its third season. This follows a long hiatus since the series' second season, which premiered in 2018. The newest season has been much anticipated after several other appearances by the main cast in movies like Deadpool 2, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Marvel's Eternals.
The series stars Donald Glover as Earn, a college dropout who begins managing his cousin's burgeoning rap career. However, the show is unique for not following a traditional sitcom format. Many of the show's episodes ignore this central premise, resulting in these ten being some of the best, and craziest, TV episodes of all time.
10 Streets On Lock
While the first episode of Atlanta is reminiscent of a traditional TV pilot, the second episode proves that the show has bigger ambitions. Following a shootout involving Brian Tyree Henry's Paperboi at the end of the episode, Earl and Alfred are arrested. Although Alfred quickly makes bail, Earn must continue waiting to be let go.
Most of this episode takes place within the waiting room inside the police station. Earn doesn't say or do much, but his observations of other detainees provide an in-depth look at America's prison system. It manages to go from fairly absurd and silly to dark and upsetting within a moment's notice, as Earn is forced to sit back and watch.
9 The Streisand Effect
The fourth episode of Atlanta features some pretty rare interaction between Earn and Darius, Alfred's best friend played by Lakeith Stanfield. Here, Earn is hilariously led on a fetch quest as Darius promises to net Earn extra money in exchange for his phone. Earn's frustration with Darius's confusing scheme makes for classic Atlanta comedy.
Meanwhile, Alfred deals with an Internet troll who mocks his Paperboi persona online. Not one to take offense lightly, Alfred confronts the troll, named Zan, and meets his video-making partner on Vine. In true Atlanta fashion, this partner is a child whose potty language is deemed not suitable for television, resulting in a string of bleeps.
8 Nobody Beats The Biebs
If the first four episodes of Atlanta proved the show could get weird, episode five is where they get really weird. While attending a charity basketball event, Alfred's presence is upstaged by that of Justin Bieber. However, Atlanta depicts Bieber as an African-American man, commenting on Bieber's alleged appropriation of black culture.
What's even greater about this episode is how much it echoes real life. At the end of the episode, Atlanta's Bieber announces his next album, called "Justice," at a press conference. Many Atlanta fans found it quite ironic that years later, in 2021, the real Justin Bieber would release an album by the same name.
7 B.A.N.
"B.A.N." is one of the few of the whole series to not star series creator Donald Glover, though he does net a writing and directing credit. This episode is framed as an episode of Montague, a fictional talk show in the Atlanta universe. Paperboi appears as a guest getting into heated debates with the host and other guests about transgender rights.
What audiences found most significant about this episode is its format. In between segments of Montague are absurd advertisements for Arizona iced tea, the Dodger Charger, and Swisher Sweets cigars. The funniest one, however, is an animated cereal commercial for Coconut Crunchos that goes in a very dark direction.
6 The Club
Many episodes of Atlanta find the characters navigating one particular location or circumstance. In "The Club," the series' eighth episode, Earn, Darius, and Alfred find themselves in, as the title suggests, a nightclub. Earn spends the episode chasing down a promoter who owes him money, involving Scooby-Doo-esque trap doors.
Alfred, on the other hand, spends his time at the nightclub envious of Marcus Miles, a basketball player with more fame than him. In one of the show's most famous bits, Darius shows Alfred Marcus's Instagram, including pictures of his "invisible car." While this is a funny moment by itself, it's better when the invisible car appears at the end.
5 Alligator Man
After season 1 aired in late 2016, Atlanta was renewed for a second season, which didn't premiere until 2018. The new season had a lot to live up to and did not disappoint audiences with "Alligator Man," its premiere. Notably, this episode features an Emmy-winning guest appearance by Katt Williams as Earn's uncle Willy.
Not only does Willy make a lasting impression on Atlanta fans, but this episode also sets the entire second season into motion. Willy passes on some sage wisdom to a struggling Earn, along with a gold-plated pistol for Earn to hide from the police. This literal Chekov's gun becomes very important in the second season's finale.
4 Barbershop
Another episode directed by Donald Glover, here viewers find Alfred on a simple mission to get a haircut from his barber, Bibby. However, Bibby's private life rears its ugly head, forcing a half-shaven Alfred to follow his barber around the city on various errands. It's a great showcase of Brian Tyree Henry's brilliant, comedic frustration.
Watching this episode is reminiscent of certain episodes of The Office, such as "Scott's Tots." Every time things go south for Alfred thanks to Bibby, the viewer can't help but cringe just a little. However, it's ultimately satisfying in the end when Alfred finally gets his usual haircut, though Alfred probably doesn't feel the same.
3 Teddy Perkins
This episode is perhaps the show's greatest, as it focuses mostly on Stanfield's eccentric Darius. Here, Darius visits a strange mansion for a free piano but is disturbed by the presence of its owner, the titular Teddy Perkins. Pale-faced with a high voice, this horrific character is played by none other than Donald Glover himself.
Reminiscent of films like Get Out, "Teddy Perkins" is Glover's meditation on the cost of fame. The Perkins character draws obvious comparisons to Michael Jackson, not only in appearance but in his abusive childhood and how he believes that fueled his artistic potential. With no commercial breaks, this episode is truly Atlanta at its best.
2 Woods
Surprisingly, "Teddy Perkins" wouldn't be the second season's only foray into horror. The eighth episode, "Woods," finds Alfred frustrated with his need to be "real" in a modern world that requires celebrities to be "fake." After being mugged, Alfred finds himself lost in the woods, resulting in a pretty horrific dream-like scenario.
As he tries to find his way out, Alfred encounters a deranged man named "Wiley," whose existence is even open to interpretation. The episode also provides some significant backstory for Alfred, haunted by the death of his mother. Eventually, he makes it to a gas station, where he begrudgingly takes a selfie with a fan.
1 FUBU
The tenth episode of season two takes place entirely in flashback. Earn, depicted here as a child in the late 90s, confronts typical middle school drama as his classmates accuse him of having a counterfeit FUBU t-shirt. Earn seeks out the help of Alfred, whose older authority comes to Earn's rescue later in the episode.
However, Earn and Alfred's scheme backfires in a pretty devastating way. It's best not to spoil what happens here, but it does inform how Earn and Alfred develop into the adults that audiences meet in earlier episodes of Atlanta. It once again shows how, in the best way, Atlanta is not afraid to take audiences to shockingly real places.