New Jazz (Atlanta)
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.305 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
In Amsterdam, Earn (Donald Glover) meets with Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry) and Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) at a coffee shop.
While heading to the spa, Alfred notes a man with a blanket and a Goofy cap outside a doorway, convulsing and weeping profusely.
Alfred flees from a group of obnoxious schoolboys who recognize him, hiding in an undisclosed location as he watches them steal a baby from a pram and throw it around to each other like a football.
At the bar counter, he meets Liam Neeson, who recounts one of his scandals involving his desire to get into a fight and kill a black man in the 1970s to avenge the rape of a friend of his.
Suddenly, the cakes start taking effect and Alfred, wearing the Goofy cap Lorraine gave him, collapses in a doorway.
In April 2022, FX announced that the eighth episode of the season would be titled "New Jazz" and that it would be written by series creator and main actor Donald Glover, and directed by executive producer Hiro Murai.
[2] Neeson references a real-life scandal in 2019; while promoting his film Cold Pursuit, he said that he generated his character's "primal" anger by recounting an experience he had 40 years ago, in which a female friend of his had been raped by a stranger.
[5][6] Men's Health viewed the scene as nearly succeeding at "lulling viewers into a false sense of empathy for a man willing to own up to his past misdeeds.
Club gave the episode an "A−" and writing, "If Atlanta had let this season's European tour end without at least one scene in which Darius and Al get high in Amsterdam, they would have squandered a natural character beat and risked a fan revolt.
But 'New Jazz' isn't mere fan service, and it wanders far from the path of least resistance; the setup is the least predictable thing about this deep and deeply funny episode.
"[11] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "'New Jazz' — the first episode of the series with the Donald Glover/Hiro Murai writer/director combo since 'Teddy Perkins' — is more experience than mystery, and doesn't seem hugely concerned with the truth of these questions.
This season's occasional detours back to America have been interesting, but Atlanta with the regular cast remains on another level.
"[12] Jordan Taliha McDonald of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Throughout the third season of Atlanta, the question of power and the limits of satire have weighed heavily on the show and the writing of its characters.
"[13] Alison Herman of The Ringer wrote, "In a season that's otherwise pushed the show in new directions, 'New Jazz' feels like Atlanta getting back to basics, not to mention its larger plot.
"[15] Kyndall Cunningham of The Daily Beast was more critical, writing "you could say that, because Atlanta is a show that is primarily purported to be for black audiences, we also don't need these 'rigorous' lessons on "white privilege".
