In one of many shining, surreal moments in FX’s new series Atlanta, chronic underachiever Earnest 'Earn' Marks is riding the bus home with his baby daughter. Weary and maybe less than awake, he encounters a man in a brown suit and bowtie. 'Ya mind’s racing,' the man says. 'Tell me, young.' Without questioning how this man could know his inner state , Earn gives in. 'I just keep losing,' he begins.
He’s been arrested for possession. He keeps guns ready for confrontations. And he smokes weed to escape, usually with his friend Darius , who’s so blazed and given to philosophical asides that it’s not entirely certain that he’s a real character or a figment of Earn and Alfred’s imaginations. These three are all dreaming of something better and struggling to reach it. Atlanta itself is both backdrop for and character in their story.