‘Atlanta’ Writer Janine Nabers Shares Who and What Inspired Mr. Chocolate in “Work Ethic!”

There was no way Atlanta’s writers would let the final season pass without giving viewers the bizarreness that attracted them to the series in the first place. The hit FX show is well into Season 4, and it’s been just as peculiar as you’d expect. Episode 5 titled “Work Ethic!” features a powerful TV producer named Kirkwood Chocolate (presumably portrayed by Donald Glover who also directed the episode), a one-off character similar to Season 2’s Teddy Perkins. 

The entertainment mogul has created an empire and built a giant movie studio in Atlanta—similar to Tyler Perry’s movie studio in Georgia—where he produces movies and television geared toward a Black audience. While he has many fans, others, like Vanessa “Van” Keefer (Zazie Beetz), find his work to be stereotypical and derogatory for creating exaggerated portrayals of Black people. Mr. Chocolate represents real-life producers and executives in show business who have dedicated their careers to making content for a Black audience that not all Black people see themselves in. The reality is that he also represents non-Black executives in Hollywood who believe that including stereotypes within their shows or movies somehow makes the stories more marketable. 

The episode’s writer, Janine Nabers, says that although Mr. Chocolate feels familiar and similar to someone like Perry, the character is an “amalgamation” of different Hollywood people. “There’s an aesthetic when it comes to Black folk and art that I think some people really double down on. I think Mr. Chocolate is not just one person,” Nabers, who also wrote the Van-centered “Sinterklaas Is Coming to Town” episode in Season 3, tells Complex. “He represents many different people in Hollywood that kind of have this similar aesthetic of Blackness and art and the stories that we tell and what resonates with being a compelling Black story or a real Black story.” 

Season 3 ended with Van questioning who she is apart from Earn (Glover) and whether she is a good mother to their daughter, Lottie (Austin Elle Fisher). After the last few episodes focused on the rest of the characters like Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) and Earn, the spotlight is now back on Van. “Work Ethic!” starts with Van taking on an acting role in a TV show created by Mr. Chocolate in an effort to become more autonomous and do something that would make Lottie proud. 

“The Homeliest Little Horse,” Earn finally revealed why he dropped out of Princeton, and that gave viewers insight into how he ended up becoming the man he is. “We’ve done this really cool thing with Season 4, where we really give these characters the ending that I think they deserve,” Nabers says. “A lot of them are confronting these kinds of questions about themselves in these episodes that are questions that we’ve been asking about them for so long, too.”

Nabers hopped on a call with Complex to speak on Van’s journey in Episode 5, Lottie finding her voice, Atlanta’s exploration of what is considered “good” Black art, and more. The final season of Atlanta is currently airing on FX on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.