After Donald Glover starred as Troy Barnes, arguably the funniest character on the sitcom Community, it has been revealed that he has partnered with FX to create a new comedy series entitled Atlanta (the city where Glover was raised). Glover says that he wants the show to be similar to David Lynch and Mark Frost's seminal 1990's series, Twin Peaks, but cast with rappers.
Donald Glover has had an extremely eclectic career. The Derrick Comedy star capitalized on his YouTube fame to reach incredible heights. Glover was a writer on the highly acclaimed NBC show, 30 Rock, for which he won an Emmy Award. However, as Glover raps on his track, "Feaks and Geeks," "Told all you n***as I'm in it to win it, cause having an Emmy just wasn't enough." Glover went on to forge a formidable rap career as Childish Gambino, releasing albums like Camp and Because the Internet, along with countless mixtapes. Through these mixtapes, writing spots and comedy sketches, one could surmise that Glover would go on to create a surrealist-leaning, absurd comedy series.
Glover spoke at the Television Critics Association, according to Vulture, where he explained his vision for the series.
"I just always wanted to make Twin Peaks with rappers "he told reporters. "Television shows are like novels," he continued. "You just got to invest in them. The tone of this, it's going to take people time to figure out what's going on, which I think is a good thing."
The show follows a man named Earnest "Earn" Marks, who returns to his home city of Atlanta and witnesses the rise of his brother as a hip-hop star.
Twin Peaks was a surrealist, neo-noir drama that employed both absurdist comedy and terrifying tension to great avail, though the series ended after only two seasons. However, it was earlier announced that the series would be returning, this time to Showtime, for a new season in 2016.
