‘Atlanta’ Review: Donald Glover’s FX Drama Brings Hip-Hop Alive

Series from former “Community” star is funny, assured and delightfully aimless

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Rapper Donald "Childish Gambino" Glover attends Power 105.1's Powerhouse 2014 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on October 30, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Power 105.1)
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Consistently funny with a proudly idiosyncratic vibe, “Atlanta” launches out of the gate with a firm grasp of its characters, milieu and worldview. Created by and starring Donald Glover (pictured),ย  this FX series is a comedy-drama hybrid that glides between sadness, humor and surrealism without compromising any of its distinctive tones. After four episodes, “Atlanta” still shows no clear sign of where it might be going, but that hardly matters — with this much promise, you’ll want to follow wherever it roams.

The former “Community” star, who records rap albums under the name Childish Gambino, has given his show the same lively, laid-back Southern atmosphere as the titular city where the action takes place.

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