B.A.N. (Atlanta)

"**B.A.N.**"
"B.A.N."
Atlanta episode
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 7
Directed by	Donald Glover
Written by	Donald Glover
Production code	XAA01007
Original air date	October 11, 2016
Running time	24.3 minutes
Guest appearances
	Niles Stewart as Antoine Smalls/Harrison Booth; Alano Miller as Franklin Montague; Mary Kraft as Dr. Deborah Holt; Tim McAdams as Charger Man; Kevin Michael Richardson as Wally the Wolf (voice); Cree Summer as Kids (voice); Dave Willis as Cop (voice); Emmett Hunter as Ahmad White;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Value"	Next →; "The Club"
	Atlanta (season 1)
	List of episodes

Last updated February 21, 2024

"B.A.N." is the seventh episode in the first season of the FX series Atlanta . The episode depicts Paper Boi being interviewed on Montague, a talk show on the fictional Black American Network (B.A.N). The entire episode is shot in the style of a block of television programming and includes both footage from the talk show and fake commercials.

The episode originally aired on October 11, 2016. It was written and directed by series creator Donald Glover. Glover won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for directing the episode.^[1]^[2]

Plot

After Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) makes a controversial tweet stating that he would never have sex with Caitlyn Jenner, Earn gets him a spot on an interview show hosted by Franklin Montague (Alano Miller) on the B.A.N. (aka the Black American Network). In the awkward interview, Paper Boi debates with fellow guest, transgender activist Dr. Deborah Holt (Mary Kraft). At first the two clash over race and gender, but later come to some agreement. The interview deteriorates into arguing when a new guest named Antoine Smalls (Niles Stewart) joins the round table. Smalls believes that his name is Harrison Booth and he is a 35 year-old white man from Colorado.

Meanwhile, a series of Dodge Charger commercials air on the channel, but they prove to just be a surreal interlude of an Atlanta man (Tim McAdams) celebrating his divorce. Other commercials air during the segment, including ads for real-life products like Arizona iced tea, Mickey's malt liquor and Swisher Sweets, as well as fictional items like Coconut Crunchos Cereal and a dubious self-improvement service.

The Coconut Crunchos segment is a reference to police brutality.^[3]

Production

Donald Glover wrote and directed "B.A.N"; however, he does not appear onscreen in the episode.^[4] His character Earn is addressed briefly by Paper Boi, implying he is either off-camera or backstage at the studio where "Montague" is filmed. The characters of Darius and Van do not appear in the episode either.

Reception

The episode earned mixed reviews from critics. Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club wrote that the episode "feels a little too experimental",^[5] while The Washington Post praised the episode and said that Atlanta is "the most random yet thought-provoking show on television".^[6]

Glover won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for directing the episode. He is the first black director in the history of the Emmys to win this particular award.^[1] He was also nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for this episode.^[2]

Related Research Articles

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Stefani Robinson is an American screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her work on FX's Atlanta, for which she won two Writers Guild of America Awards, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Robinson was a writer and executive producer for the FX television series What We Do in The Shadows, for which she received Emmy nominations for writing, and for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020 and 2022. She wrote the screenplay for the 2023 biopic Chevalier.

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<i>Atlanta</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of the American television series Atlanta premiered on September 6, 2016. The season is produced by RBA, 343 Incorporated, MGMT. Entertainment, and FXP, with Donald Glover, Paul Simms, and Dianne McGunigle, serving as executive producers. Glover serves as creator and wrote four episodes for the season.

<i>Atlanta</i> (season 2) Season of television series

The second season of the American television series Atlanta, titled Robbin' Season, premiered on March 1, 2018. The season is produced by RBA, 343 Incorporated, MGMT. Entertainment, and FXP, with Donald Glover, Paul Simms, Dianne McGunigle, Stephen Glover, and Hiro Murai serving as executive producers. Donald Glover serves as creator and wrote two episodes for the season.

<i>Atlanta</i> (season 3) Season of television series

The third season of the American television series Atlanta premiered on March 24, 2022, on FX. The season is produced by Gilga, 343 Incorporated, MGMT. Entertainment, and FXP, with Donald Glover, Paul Simms, Dianne McGunigle, Stephen Glover, Hiro Murai, and Stefani Robinson serving as executive producers. Donald Glover serves as creator and showrunner, writing two episodes and directing three episodes of the season.

"Sinterklaas is Coming to Town" is the second episode of the third season of the American comedy-drama television series Atlanta. It is the 23rd overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Janine Nabers, and directed by executive producer Hiro Murai. It was first broadcast on FX in the United States on March 24, 2022, airing back-to-back with the previous episode, "Three Slaps".

References

1 2 Weldon, Sarah (September 17, 2017). "Donald Glover becomes first black director to win Emmy for directing a comedy series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
1 2 Hipes, Patrick (January 11, 2017). "DGA TV Awards Nominations: 'Stranger Things', 'Westworld' & 'Atlanta' On List; Docus Include 'OJ: Made In America'". Deadline. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
↑ Martinelli, Marissa (2016-10-12). "Here's Atlanta's Funny-but-Sad Cereal Commercial Parody Addressing Police Brutality". Slate . Retrieved 2020-06-10.
↑ Friend, Tad (March 5, 2018). "Donald Glover Can't Save You". New Yorker.
↑ Alston, Joshua (October 11, 2016). "Atlanta's "B.A.N." is quite the Nutella sandwich of an episode". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
↑ Butler, Bethonie (October 12, 2016). "'Atlanta' tackled stereotypes with fake commercials and a parody news show". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

External links

"B.A.N." at IMDb

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[e-1] 1 2 Weldon, Sarah (September 17, 2017). "Donald Glover becomes first black director to win Emmy for directing a comedy series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

[dga-2] 1 2 Hipes, Patrick (January 11, 2017). "DGA TV Awards Nominations: 'Stranger Things', 'Westworld' & 'Atlanta' On List; Docus Include 'OJ: Made In America'". Deadline. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

[3] Martinelli, Marissa (2016-10-12). "Here's Atlanta's Funny-but-Sad Cereal Commercial Parody Addressing Police Brutality". Slate . Retrieved 2020-06-10.

[4] Friend, Tad (March 5, 2018). "Donald Glover Can't Save You". New Yorker.

[5] Alston, Joshua (October 11, 2016). "Atlanta's "B.A.N." is quite the Nutella sandwich of an episode". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

[6] Butler, Bethonie (October 12, 2016). "'Atlanta' tackled stereotypes with fake commercials and a parody news show". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

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v t e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
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1980s	James Burrows for "Louie and the Nice Girl" (1980) James Burrows for "Elaine's Strange Triangle" (1981) Alan Rafkin for "Barbara's Crisis" (1982) James Burrows for "Showdown: Part 2" (1983) Bill Persky for "A Very Loud Family" (1984) Jay Sandrich for "The Younger Woman" (1985) Jay Sandrich for "Denise's Friend" (1986) Terry Hughes for "Isn't It Romantic?" (1987) Gregory Hoblit for "Pilot (Hooperman)" (1988) Peter Baldwin for "Our Miss White" (1989)
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2000s	Todd Holland for "Pilot" (Malcolm in the Middle) (2000) Todd Holland for "Bowling" (2001) Michael Patrick King for "The Real Me" (2002) Robert B. Weide for "Krazee-Eyez Killa" (2003) Anthony and Joe Russo for "Pilot" (Arrested Development) (2004) Charles McDougall for "Pilot" (Desperate Housewives) (2005) Marc Buckland for "Pilot" (My Name Is Earl) (2006) Richard Shepard for "Pilot" (Ugly Betty) (2007) Barry Sonnenfeld for "Pie-lette" (2008) Jeffrey Blitz for "Stress Relief" (2009)
2010s	Ryan Murphy for "Pilot" (Glee) (2010) Michael Spiller for "Halloween" (2011) Steven Levitan for "Baby on Board" (2012) Gail Mancuso for "Arrested" (2013) Gail Mancuso for "Las Vegas" (2014) Joey Soloway for "Best New Girl" (2015) Joey Soloway for "Man on the Land" (2016) Donald Glover for "B.A.N." (2017) Amy Sherman-Palladino for "Pilot" (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) (2018) Harry Bradbeer for "Episode 1" (2019)
2020s	Andrew Cividino and Dan Levy for "Happy Ending" (2020) Lucia Aniello for "There Is No Line" (2021) MJ Delaney for "No Weddings and a Funeral" (2022) Christopher Storer for "Review" (2023)