This was posted on Monday, September 18, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
I was covering Music Midtown Sunday night and got home late so I'm going to keep this short and sweet in the wee hours of Monday morning.
Donald Glover, who grew up in Stone Mountain, took home two Emmys Sunday night: one for best comedic actor and one for directing in a comedic series for his FX series "Atlanta."
The latter Emmy was groundbreaking: he is the first black director to ever win in that category.
The episode he directed that won the Emmy featured Paper Boi on a Charlie Rose-type talk show. It was a show within a show with fake ads inserted in as well.
Glover, at the dais after winning best comedic actor, joked that Donald Trump should take credit in his win for helping make black people "No. 1 on the most oppressed list."
The last black actor to win an Emmy in that category was Robert Guillaume in 1985 for "Benson."
The second season of "Atlanta" is in pre-production and should return in 2018. It debuted last year. The reason there are no new episodes in 2017 is Glover's busy schedule, which includes starring in the "Star Wars" Han Solo project.
"Atlanta" did not win best comedic series. That went to HBO's "Veep" for the third year in a row. And he lost in writing to Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe for Netflix's "Master of None."
Also, Netflix's "Stranger Things," also shot in Atlanta, didn't win best drama. Hulu's 'The Handmaid's Tale" took home the prize in a competitive field that also included Netflix's "The Crown" and HBO's "Westworld."
