"B.A.N." is the seventh episode in the first season of the FX series ''

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

''. The episode depicts Paper Boi being interviewed on ''Montague'', a talk show on the fictional Black American Network (B.A.N). The entire episode is shot in the style of a block of television programming and includes both footage from the talk show and fake commercials. The episode originally aired on October 11, 2016. It was written and directed by series creator

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 ...

. Glover won a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...

and was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for directing the episode.

Plot

After Paper Boi (

Brian Tyree Henry Brian Tyree Henry (born March 31, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta'' (2016–2022), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstan ...

) makes a controversial tweet stating that he would never have sex with

Caitlyn Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland Yellowjackets before incurring a kne ...

, Earn gets him a spot on an interview show hosted by Franklin Montague (

Alano Miller Alano Herberto Miller (born 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Cato on the short-lived WGN America drama series ''Underground''. Early life Miller was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, U.S. Miller is of Cuban, Bah ...

) on the B.A.N. (aka the Black American Network). In the awkward interview, Paper Boi debates with fellow guest, transgender activist Dr. Deborah Holt (Mary Kraft). At first the two clash over race and gender, but later come to some agreement. The interview deteriorates into arguing when a new guest named Antoine Smalls ( Niles Stewart) joins the round table. Smalls believes that his name is Harrison Booth and he is a 35 year-old white man from Colorado. Meanwhile, a series of

Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. The Charger has ...

commercials air on the channel, but they prove to just be a surreal interlude of an Atlanta man ( Tim McAdams) celebrating his divorce. Other commercials air during the segment, including ads for real-life products like

Arizona iced tea Arizona Beverages USA (stylized as AriZona) is an American producer of many flavors of iced tea, juice cocktails, and energy drinks based in Woodbury, New York. Arizona's first product was made available in 1992, to compete with Snapple. Bot ...

Mickey's Mickey's is a brand of malt liquor made by the Miller Brewing Company. It has a 5.6% ABV. The brand was created by Sterling Brewery in Evansville, Indiana, which brewed it from 1962 through 1972. It is known for its bright green barrel-shaped, ...

malt liquor and

Swisher Sweets Swisher Sweets is a cigar brand manufactured by Swisher INC. Their headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, ...

, as well as fictional items like Coconut Crunchos Cereal and a dubious self-improvement service. The Coconut Crunchos segment is a reference to

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

Production

Donald Glover wrote and directed "B.A.N"; however, he does not appear onscreen in the episode. His character Earn is addressed briefly by Paper Boi, implying he is either off-camera or backstage at the studio where "Montague" is filmed. The characters of Darius and Van do not appear in the episode either.

Reception

The episode earned mixed reviews from critics. Joshua Alston of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote that the episode "feels a little too experimental", while ''The Washington Post'' praised the episode and said that ''Atlanta'' is "the most random yet thought-provoking show on television". Glover won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...

for directing the episode. He is the first black director in the history of the

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

to win this particular award. He was also nominated for a

Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...

for

for this episode.

References

External links

* {{EmmyAward ComedyDirector Atlanta (TV series) episodes 2016 American television episodes Television episodes written by Donald Glover Television episodes directed by Donald Glover Emmy Award-winning episodes