The most-watched shows of today are big. “The Walking Dead,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Game of Thrones” are all good shows in their own right; they generate a massive cultural conversation and connect people to something bigger than themselves. However, their success drives networks to try to recreate their size with new shows, often creating an incredibly hollow byproduct that fails to reach anywhere near where it wants to be. These are the shows that tend to last a season or two and get thrown out of public consciousness once they’re finished.

“Atlanta” is the antithesis of those big shows.

Donald Glover — also known by his rapper name Childish Gambino or in his role as Troy on “Community” — created, wrote, directed and starred in this small half-hour show. The first season, 10 episodes, finished last week. Unlike a lot of shows with a great pilot, “Atlanta” built on its first episode, progressing and finding its way more and more every week. It is one of those niche shows that critics love, followed mostly by fans of its star, but probably will not get huge publicity until a streaming site picks up airing rights or it wins a big award — see: “Mr. Robot.”

A lot of the creative work behind the show generated the initial intrigue. Glover made headlines before the premiere by alerting the public that the writing room was made up of all black people. He said in an interview with Vulture, “I wanted to show white people, you don’t know everything about black culture.” For a show about a poor black 20-something trying to make money promoting his rapper cousin in the Atlanta rap scene, that decision certainly made a lot of sense.

However, the show isn’t a tool to give white people a glimpse into a different lifestyle. That was neither Glover’s purpose for making the show nor the message he wanted to deliver.

This is a black show that is great, which should not be a shock to the world. “Atlanta” is a great show because it masters how to tell the story of an individual by the small moments. Earn, Glover’s character, interacts with his parents, with his girlfriend, with his cousin and with everybody else in a way that illustrates the pressure he is under and his frustration in a very personal way.

The comedy of “Atlanta” is rooted in a much different way than the rest of comedies on TV today. At times it can be as ridiculous as “Louie,” but not as surreal, and as personal as “Master of None,” but without the lavishness. It is also very subtle about its laughs most of the time. None of the characters ever laugh at the situations they find themselves in, but the story moves in a way that is quietly hilarious if you take a step back and realize how importantly dumb their lives are.

Just like the little moments with Earn, each episode has little moments with side or throwaway characters that progress the story and add humor. In an early episode, after a serious conversation between Earn and a partner, a man appears at the door, says a few words, and runs away. You don’t fall over laughing, but you crack a smile and chuckle while you ask what the hell was going on. The show makes you laugh at life.

The cinematography and editing of the show are the final laces that tie it together. The deeply personal conversations and the moving moments are all told through very few cuts, allowing the emotion of each character to build and show through the screen. Both the daytime and nighttime scenes use lighting sparingly to reflect the mood of the scenes. The camera really helps tell the story and keep the humor far enough away from you to make you ask yourself if each moment was serious or funny, and like most of the show, it is often both.

Kyle Stevens is a junior advertising major. His column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email him at ksteve03@syr.edu or reach him on Twitter at @kstevs_.

Published on November 7, 2016 at 7:25 pm