The run of one of the best shows on all of television has been extended, with an interesting twist. The FX series Atlanta was renewed for a third season in June 2018, but today the network announced that they’ve gone ahead and ordered an additional fourth season of the series before production on Atlanta Season 3 has even begun. Indeed, FX says Atlanta Season 3 and Atlanta Season 4 will both begin production in Spring 2020, meaning Donald Glover and Co. will be making two seasons of Atlanta at once. Either that or they’ll be shooting them back-to-back with a break in between. Each season will consist of eight episodes.

“What more can be said about Atlanta than the critical acclaim and accolades that Donald, Paul, Dianne, Stephen and Hiro have earned for two exceptional seasons of what is clearly one of the best shows on television,” said Schrier. “This group of collaborators and cast have created one of the most original, innovative stories of this generation and we are proud to be their partners.” 

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Image via FX

Earlier this year, FX admitted that Atlanta Season 3 would be a bit delayed owing to Glover’s scheduling issues. But given the acclaim that Atlanta has received, the network was more than willing to accommodate his schedule to simply ensure that a new season of the series would exist. It appears that patience paid off, and indeed it kind of makes sense that Season 3 and Season 4 will be shot back-to-back. Between Atlanta, his film career, and his music career, Glover is an incredibly busy individual, so carving out a longer block of time to bang out two whole seasons of Atlanta ensures that the wait for Season 4 won’t be as long.

It’s quite literally impossible to predict what Atlanta will have in store for audiences in these next two seasons. It’s a show that consistently breaks the rules of conventional television storytelling, as evidenced by Season 2’s incredible “Teddy Perkins” episode, so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s some sort of grand plan that connects Season 3 and Season 4, or if they’ll be two distinct, standalone seasons.

Whatever the case, I can’t wait. A premiere date for Atlanta Season 3 and Atlanta Season 4 has yet to be revealed, but it could be 2021 before new episodes arrive depending on how long the production schedule is. At the earliest, Atlanta Season 3 may arrive in late 2020, but again none of this has been confirmed by FX. For now, just take heart knowing there are 16 new episodes of Atlanta coming our way in the future.

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Image via FX
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Image via FX
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Image via FX
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Image via FX