Donald Glover on the decision to end Atlanta with season 4

Atlanta is closing shop in 2022. The comedy will end its run with a fourth and final season, FX Chairman John Landgraf announced at the Television Critics Association’s (TCA) 2022 winter press tour. Season four, which has already been filmed, will release this fall.

But before that, the 10-episode third season, which was filmed almost entirely in Europe, is finally set to premiere on March 24, almost four years after the preceding installment aired on the cable network. “The new season is everything you’ve come to expect from Atlanta, which is to say, expect the unexpected. Sit back and enjoy the trip,” Landgraf said during Thursday’s TCA executive session. He also added that for the first time in the show’s history, Atlanta episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.

Created by and starring Donald Glover, Atlanta follows Earn (Glover), a college dropout who works as the manager for his rapper cousin, Alfred Miles a.k.a. Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry). Zazie Beetz plays Van, Earn’s love interest, and Lakieth Stanfield co-stars as Darius Epps, Paper Boi’s right-hand man. The show earned critical acclaim when it premiered, with the first two seasons snagging multiple Emmy nominations, including two wins for Glover in 2016.

During the TCA panel for the show, which included most of the cast along with executive producers Stefani Robinson and Stephen Glover and director Hiro Murai, Donald Glover told reporters he believes the show ends “perfectly,” adding that he originally wished to end Atlanta after season two itself. “Death is natural to me. I’ve been doing television for almost two decades now. I like things ending.” Glover said, referencing the work of Vietnamese monk and author Thích Nhất Hạnh.

Glover also reiterated that the decision to end Atlanta had nothing to do with his recent eight-figure deal with Amazon to create projects for Prime Video. “The story was always supposed to be what it is,” he said. When asked about a possible reboot down the line, Glover said he is keeping his options open.

Seasons three and four were filmed back-to-back, which means cast members were aware the show was wrapping up its run. During the panel, Beetz said this knowledge helped her lean into Van’s relationships because she loves the character. Henry, who initially joked about being absent from the final season, noted that the show feels elevated in its final two installments. “It naturally felt like the right time to end the series,” he added.

Robinson previewed the third season by saying it’s about “curses” and “generational spookiness,” and the first episode is emblematic of those ideas.

Unlike the sophomore run dubbed Atlanta: Robbin’ Season, the third season doesn’t have an official subtitle, but the cast and crew are calling it the “fish out of water” season. Earn, Alfred, Van, and Darius explore Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Berlin—a world outside Atlanta—this time around. Season four’s possible tagline? Glover says: “Just Have Fun.”