Atlanta season 4: Release date speculation, cast and latest news

By James Hibbs

Published: Friday, 15 July 2022 at 12:00 am

Atlanta is one of the most exciting, surreal and unpredictable shows on TV and, after a four year absence, the series returned in glorious fashion for season 3 earlier this year on Disney Plus.

Donald Glover’s comedy-drama has always loved playing with form. In a 2018 profile in The New Yorker, Glover and his brother Stephen both spoke about how his pitch to FX for the series was a Trojan horse, in which “Earn and Al work together to make it in the rough music industry.

“Al got famous for shooting someone and now he’s trying to deal with fame, and I’ll have a new song for him every week. Darius will be the funny one, and the gang’s going to be all together.”

Having seen three seasons of the series, fans will now know this is very much not the case. Seasons 1 and 2 featured experimental B.A.N, Teddy Perkins and Woods, while season 3 featured 4 episodes where none of the main cast were heavily featured, exploring new worlds and characters in true anthology style.

Now, after binging their way through season 3, many fans will be left wondering when they will be able to see more of what Glover and his team have cooking for the series. But is there a season 4 on the cards?

Read on for everything you need to know about Atlanta season 4.

Has Atlanta been renewed for season 4?

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Donald Glover in Atlanta
FX

Good news: Atlanta will be back for a fourth season. Bad news: it’s also going to be the show’s last.

Seasons 3 and 4 were shot back-to-back after the show was renewed for a fourth season back in 2019, with filming finishing in August 2019. It was then revealed in February of this year that season 4 would be Atlanta’s last, with some speculating that this was because of Glover’s current deal with Amazon.

However, Glover was quick to put this speculation to rest, saying: “When the conditions are right for something to happen, it happens, and when they’re not, it doesn’t. The story was always supposed to be what it was.”

Glover also hinted that, while the series is ending here for now, he may not be averse to returning to it in future. He said he would return “if there’s a reason to do it, but it always depends. I like keeping options open.”

So for now, it seems this is the end of the road.

When will season 4 drop on Disney Plus in the UK?

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LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz in Atlanta season 3
Coco Olakunle/FX

It’s not yet known exactly when the fourth and final season of Atlanta will be released on Disney Plus, but we do know that it’s set to air weekly in the US on FX sometime this Autumn.

Based on the precedent set by season 3’s release, we’d expect the full run of season 4 to play out in the US and for the season to then drop in full on Disney Plus in the UK shortly afterwards.

This would mean we could be looking at a release near the end of 2022, so there shouldn’t be too long for fans to wait.

What will be happening in Atlanta season 4?

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Zazie Beetz in Atlanta season 3
FX

Honestly, your guess is as good as ours.

Season 3 ended with Van appearing to have some sort of breakdown, living a life in France while adopting a French accent and participating in a number of bizarre hobbies.

While she appeared to come to the realisation that she needs to return home for her daughter at the end of the episode, and this could be leading into a larger storyline, Atlanta has never been a show to follow expectations, and this could be the last we see or hear of this particular story.

However, we do know that Van will still be looking inward in the final season. Van actress Zazie Beetz told Deadline that “in Season 4, there’s a continuation of identity searching”.

Meanwhile, we do also know that the action will be transported back from Europe to Atlanta, with director and executive producer Hiro Murai calling it the “homecoming season” when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter.

He said: “We got to say goodbye properly to the city and the show, I think it’ll feel a little nostalgic too because I don’t think you’ve seen Atlanta during the summer since season 1. It’s kind of like the greatest hits season.”

Whether this means season 4 will follow a more similar structure to seasons 1 and 2, or whether it will still feature one-off, anthology style episodes like season 3 remains to be seen.

Atlanta cast – Who will be back for season 4?

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The cast of Atlanta season 3
FX/Oliver Upton

Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz will all return in their roles as Earn, Alfred/Paper Boi, Darius and Van respectively. However, beyond that it’s not yet known if any of the other cast who have appeared in previous episodes will come back for season 4.

Although a few characters have shown up in multiple episodes, including Khris Davis as Tracy, Adriyan Rae as Candice and season 3 additions Socks as played by Hugh Coles and E as played by Tobias Segal, Atlanta has never been a show which focuses too heavily on continuity or long-term storylines.

Therefore, whether any of these additional characters return for the final season remains to be seen.

Here’s a list of the confirmed cast for Atlanta season 4:

  • Donald Glover as Earnest ‘Earn’ Marks
  • Brian Tyree Henry as Alfred ‘Paper Boi’ Miles
  • LaKeith Stanfield as Darius
  • Zazie Beetz as Vanessa ‘Van’ Keefer

Is there a trailer for Atlanta season 4?

There isn’t a trailer for the fourth season just yet but we’ll keep this page updated as soon as one arrives online. For now you can rewatch the season 3 trailer right here.

ayö but fr we out here. official trailer. FX’s Atlanta – 3.24.22 on FX. Stream on @Hulu. pic.twitter.com/bdeGUstp8G

— AtlantaFX (@AtlantaFX) March 4, 2022