"Here a good one," Donald Glover says, sweetly, as he hands me a voluptuous avocado fresh from the tree. Gray hairs are perfectly sprinkled throughout his beard, and his coils are hiding beneath a weathered navy "Hawaii" cap that spent most of the day precariously atop his head, defying gravity. Glover is showing me around the sprawling farm he's purchased in Ojai, California, that will be the headquarters for Gilga-his new production company/incubator/cultural library. On Gilga Farm there are countless orange trees, an old church that is being converted into a live-performance and recording space, housing for creatives to spend the night, curious lizards, editing suites, writers rooms, a restaurant that specializes in artisanal sandwiches, and just about every tool or space any musician, director, or showrunner could dream of. Picture Skywalker Ranch but with 21 Savage or Quinta Brunson as temporary residents creating their own Empire Strikes Back.
Donald Glover is one of the most exciting and original voices in Hollywood, a writer turned comedian turned rapper turned actor turned P-Funk All-Star turned showrunner turned farmer. He named his nascent company after Gilgamesh, the mythic Mesopotamian hero who angered the gods. "Gilga is like Erewhon for culture," he says, referring to the high-end California supermarket. "I want to work with the best people in every medium. To work toward sustainable output. The culture we're getting from our phones is not high quality. It can be really good sometimes. And fun. But not necessarily high quality. Gilga is the filter for all of that."
Since last year's finale of Atlanta, a show that became the blueprint for a whole new generation of surreal dark comedies, the world has been wondering: What's next for Donald Glover?
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