Originally filed Monday, February 4, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
FX's chief told television critics today that "Atlanta" will not air in 2019 because of creator Donald Glover's schedule.
"We have so many programs that don't cycle back on an annual basis," said FX boss John Landgraf, citing other shows such as "Fargo" and "Taboo." "You have to make a decision about quality over quantity and we're erring on the side of quality."
In this case, it’s more about accommodating the creator in question. No Glover, no “Atlanta.”
“Donald Glover is sort of the king of all media, and he just has had an incredibly complicated life. He’s had personal things he’s had to deal with, from injuries to other things I’d rather not say publicly that just have to do with not with his personal life but his extended family,” said Landgraf.
This is not the first time “Atlanta” missed a calendar year.
The inventive, unpredictable show, which has won five Emmys, debuted in 2016, skipped 2017 and aired season two in 2018.
Glover's two other primary leads - Brian Tyree Henry and Lakeith Stanfield - have seen their stars rise as well since the debut of the how.
Henry has done a raft of films including “White Boy Rick,” “Widows,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and has several more in the can. He also did acclaimed work on Broadway last year.
Stanfield starred in “Sorry to Bother You” last year and has three films slated to come out in 2019.
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