"The Big Bang" is the pilot episode of American comedy-drama television 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 ...

''. It originally aired on FX on September 6, 2016, back-to-back with the second episode " Streets on Lock". The pilot episode focuses on Earn Marks trying to convince his rapper cousin Alfred to let him be his manager. The episode was written 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 ...

(who also plays Earn) and directed by

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, ...

. On September 7, 2016, FX released the first two episodes of ''Atlanta'' on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

for free.

Plot

The series opens with a confrontation between local Atlanta rapper Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles (

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 ...

) and a man who damages Alfred's car for no apparent reason. Alfred's cousin Earnest "Earn" Marks (

) tries to mediate the situation whilst stoned sidekick Darius ( Lakeith Stanfield) has a sensation of

déjà vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...

. The episode flashes back to earlier in the day where the life of Earn is shown. Earn is a homeless

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

dropout and living with his baby daughter's mother, Vanessa "Van" Keefer (

Zazie Beetz Zazie Olivia Beetz ( ; ; born June 1, 1991) is a American actress. She stars in the FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta'' (2016–22), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy ...

), having been kicked out of his parents' house. He is working a

dead-end job A dead-end job is a job where there is little or no chance of career development and advancement into a better position. If an individual requires further education to progress within their firm that is difficult to obtain for any reason, this can ...

signing passengers up for credit cards at

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...

when he learns his cousin Alfred had released a new mixtape under the rap name "Paper Boi." Alfred initially sees Earn as a leech (Earn hadn't spoken to him since the funeral of Alfred's mother), but Earn makes an effort to get Paper Boi to make him his manager by going to a local radio station and bribing the DJ to play Paper Boi's song. Later, just as they listen to the song on Alfred's car radio, a man walking by suddenly snaps off one of the side-view mirrors, resulting in the incident at the opening scene which ultimately culminates with a shootout. Earn and Alfred are promptly arrested, while Darius escapes the scene.

Production

In 2013,

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

announced that Donald Glover would be developing a new series about Atlanta for FX. In 2014, FX ordered a pilot for the series. "The Big Bang" was filmed in July 2015 at various locations around the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

. Airport scenes set at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were actually filmed at

Infinite Energy Arena The Gas South Arena (originally known as the Gwinnett Civic Center Arena, later known as The Arena at Gwinnett Center and Infinite Energy Arena) is an indoor arena in Duluth, Georgia. It is located approximately northeast of Atlanta. The arena ...

Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Duluth had a ...

Reception

The episode received mainly positive reviews from critics.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

called the episode "a comedic slow burn" while

Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

stated that the series was "on the cusp of something great". The pilot was viewed by 1.08 million viewers during its premiere and earned an 18-49 rating of 0.5. After submitting "The Big Bang" to

Emmy 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 ...

voters for consideration, Glover won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy ...

on September 17, 2017; this made him the first black man to win the award since

Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-off, ''Benson'', as well as for voici ...

in 1985.

References

External links

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