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Why Donald Glover Felt Like He Had To Trick Execs in Order To Make ‘Atlanta’: ‘I Knew What FX Wanted From Me’

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Atlanta was a groundbreaking show that radically altered the complexion of Donald Glover’s career. Beforehand, he was Childish Gambino, a rapper, singer, and comedian with wildly creative albums we couldn’t get from anyone else. Because The Internet radically broke the mold in how we understand life online and navigate the algorithm. Donald Glover had a hand on the pulse of modern culture, and Atlanta was ushering us into the next phase of it.

However, if you pitch the show in a vacuum to a boardroom of executives, you might not get very far. Glover’s character Earnest is broke and tries to manage his cousin Paper Boi and his bubbling rap career. It’s promising on the surface, but it might not shake the room. Consequently, Donald Glover felt like........

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