The second season of the American television series '' Atlanta'', titled ''Robbin' Season'', premiered on March 1, 2018. The season is produced by RBA, 343 Incorporated, MGMT. Entertainment, and FXP, with

Donald Glover Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

, Paul Simms, Dianne McGunigle, Stephen Glover, and

Hiro Murai Hiro Murai (born 1983) is a Japanese-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His most notable works include internationally successful music videos for artists such as Childish Gambino, Earl Sweatshirt, Chet Faker, Flying Lotus, David Guetta, ...

serving as executive producers. Donald Glover serves as creator and

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

, and wrote two episodes for the season. The season was ordered in September 2016. It stars

, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz. The series follows Earn during his daily life in Atlanta, Georgia, as he tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend Van, who is also the mother of his daughter Lottie; as well as his parents and his cousin Alfred, who raps under the stage name "Paper Boi"; and Darius, Alfred's eccentric right-hand man. The season premiered on March 1, 2018, on FX. The season premiere received 0.851 million viewers with a 0.4 ratings share in the 18–49 demographics. The season ended on May 10, 2018, with an average of 0.64 million viewers, which was a 28% decrease from the previous season. The season received critical acclaim, with critics praising its cast, writing, creativity, and suspenseful atmosphere, with many deeming it an improvement over the previous season. At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, the season was nominated for 8 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series. In June 2018, FX renewed the series for a third season.

Cast and characters

Main

as Earnest "Earn" Marks and Teddy Perkins * Brian Tyree Henry as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles * LaKeith Stanfield as Darius * Zazie Beetz as Vanessa "Van" Keefer

Recurring

* Khris Davis as Tracy * RJ Walker as Clark County

Guest

* Katt Williams as Willie * Michael Vick as himself * Robert Powell III as Bibby *

Adriyan Rae Adriyan Rae is an American actress and medical laboratory scientist, known for her role as Elida in the short-lived Syfy drama ''Vagrant Queen'' and as Gianna Mackey in the NBC drama '' Chicago Fire''. Early life and education Rae was born in Se ...

as Candice *

Danielle Deadwyler Danielle Deadwyler (born May 3, 1982) is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Atlanta stage, notably the 2009 production of ''For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, For Colored Girls'', and mad ...

as Tami * Alkoya Brunson as Young Earn * Myles Truitt as Devin Meyers

Episodes

Production

Development

The series was renewed for a second season in September 2016. For the season, it carried the title "Robbin' Season". Executive producer Stephen Glover explained that the name comes from "a time in Atlanta right before Christmastime and New Year's. Basically, a bunch of crime happens in the city right during that time."

Writing

said that the season's structure was inspired by '' Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation'', which was "broken up into eight or nine episodes but when watched together, they played like a movie. You enjoy them more when they're together." Stephen Glover said that the season would explore more about the city, "We get to see daily slices of people's lives and what makes living in a city like Atlanta a weird kind of experience. Atlanta is very weird, because it's a super-black town, but at the same time, there's other cultures there, there's history there. There's all these things that make it unique. I think you'll get to hopefully get immersed in what it is to live in that place on a daily basis, or to meet some of the people that you would meet."

Casting

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

contacted Stephen Glover and gave him a piece of advice saying, "Everybody is going to want to be on this show. Don't let anyone be on it. When people like me start asking you to be on it, that's when you don't let them be on it."

Release

Broadcast

Due to Glover's acting commitment to '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'', the season was delayed until 2018. In January 2018, FX confirmed that the season would premiere on March 1, 2018. The sixth episode, "

Teddy Perkins "Teddy Perkins" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American comedy-drama television series '' Atlanta'', and the sixteenth episode of the series overall. It was originally broadcast on FX in the United States on April 5, 2018. The ...

", aired commercial-free. '' Collider'' said that the decision to run the episode commercial-free aided the episode's message of "being trapped", a theme also explored in other episodes of ''Atlanta''s second season.

Marketing

On February 13, 2018, the official trailer for the season was released.

Home media release

The season was released on DVD on December 17, 2019.

Reception

Ratings

Critical reception

The second season received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 98%, based on 212 reviews, with an average rating of 9.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Donald Glover continues to subvert expectations with a sophomore season of ''Atlanta'' that proves as excellent as it is eccentric." On Metacritic, the second season has a score of 97 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". After the season ended, Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx deemed the season as an improvement over the previous season, writing "on the whole, the Glovers, Hiro Murai, and everyone else involved in this remarkable program did exactly what they seemed to be doing at the start: following a basic narrative about Earn and Al's partnership from beginning to end." Emily VanDerWerff of Vox named it the best series of the year, writing "It's exactly the sort of thing TV is great at but that the medium does too rarely. It feels bigger than itself, with every episode spinning off into new tangents and chasing down additional rabbit trails."

Critics' top ten lists

The season topped many "Best of 2018" lists and was the second most mentioned series of the year.