Colson Whitehead’s novel is the subject of the historical drama written and directed by Barry Jenkins.
Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is coming to life onscreen thanks to Barry Jenkins. The Oscar-winning director is turning the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a 10-part limited Amazon Prime series starring newcomers Thuso Mbedu and Chase W. Dillon as well as Joel Edgerton, Lily Rabe and William Jackson Harper. As the series nears its May debut on the streaming service, audiences are finally getting a look at the first official trailer, key art. Here’s everything ET knows about the alternate history drama.
The Story
Taking place in an alternate history, the series will follow Cora’s (Mbedu) harrowing journey to freedom after escaping a Georgia plantation in the antebellum South for the rumored Underground Railroad, which is a secret network of tracks and tunnels run by engineers and conductors.
Throughout her journey, Cora grapples with the memories of her mother, Mabel, who left her behind during her own escape while being pursued by Ridgeway (Edgerton), a bounty hunter fixated on bringing Cora back to the plantation she escaped, especially since he never caught her mother.
When asked how the series will resonate with audiences once it’s finally released, Harper told ET that he hopes “that people can watch this and really connect with the story and get angry. I would also hope that people would take that time to examine who they would be in that world.”
Admittedly, Harper finds stories dealing with slavery and injustices like this hard to watch. “Anytime I see a story like this, I’m not able to look at it as a [TV show]. It’s very personal. It makes me mad,” he said, while adding that can be a good thing. “I think it’s good to see injustice like this and to get angry and to have a real opinion.”
The Cast and Crew
Thuso Mbedu as Cora, a lonely slave who was outcast by others on the plantation after her mother abandoned her.
Joel Edgerton as Ridgeway, a bounty hunter who is determined to find Cora after being evaded by her mother decades earlier.
Chase W. Dillon as Homer, a 10-year-old slave bought by Ridgeway.
William Jackson Harper as Royal, a person Cora encounters as she continues her journey north.
After earning an Emmy nomination for playing Chidi Anagonye on The Good Place, Harper’s return to TV caused a little bit of whiplash for the actor. “I was like, ‘Oh boy, I’ve got to go from this very light, optimistic show to something that is very grounded and very dark and very real,’” he recalled. “And it was strange. It took me a second to get my bearings, but hopefully I did.”
Damon Herriman and Lily Rabe as Martin and Ethel, a couple that Cora encounters on her ongoing journey through the Underground Railroad.
While speaking to ET, Rabe recalled what it was like to finish production on the series during the pandemic. “It was surreal in a way, having our shields and masks,” she said of being back. “So much of what we do is about being close to one another and being with the crew, but what I really felt was even keeping distance from people, you don't want to keep a distance from the work. It's like this umbilical cord between everybody. It keeps you together even if you can't physically be near anyone but your scene partner.”
She added, “Between action and cut, all I felt was, we are going to get to continue to make things. We are going to get to do our work. It is going to be OK.”
Rounding at the cast are Aaron Pierre (Krypton), Sheila Atim (Bruised), Amber Gray (Hadestown), Peter De Jersey (The Bill), Chukwudi Iwuji (News of the World), Irone Singleton (The Walking Dead), Mychal-Bella Bowman (The Haves and the Have Nots), Marcus “MJ” Gladney, Jr., Will Poulter (Midsommar) and Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake).
All 10 episodes will be helmed by Jenkins, who is famous for Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk and a standout episode of Dear White People, with the Oscar-nominated composer, Nicholas Britell, reuniting with the director to provide the score.
Trailer and Premiere Date
The series was filmed on location in various parts of Georgia starting in the summer of 2019 and was temporarily shut down by the coronavirus outbreak that led to a lockdown throughout most of the country. However, the production was able to start again amid the pandemic, with Jenkins announcing that filming had wrapped at the end of September 2020.
Since then Jenkins has released several moody clips (see below) ahead of the first official teaser, which was released by Amazon in February, alongside an official premiere date of May 14, 2021. In the evocative clip, a voice can be heard saying, “We are Africans in America. Something new to the history of the world,” over a new montage of footage from the series.
In April, Amazon revealed the a stunning full-length trailer that showed more of the story adapted from Whitehead’s novel. “Air I saw a dappled wonder settling across the fields, hovering on angel wings, brandishing a blazing shield,” another voice is heard reciting over more new footage from the series.
Additional Clips and Images
Leading up to its debut, Jenkins has shared several moody clips, giving audiences a taste of what’s to come from this adaptation. In the first video, “Randall. Cora Randall.,” the director shares the first look at Mbedu as Cora. Meanwhile, the second video, “Preamble,” offers a look at the passengers as well as the conductors and engineers who run the secret network. As the video pans over the crowd, a voice is heard asking, “Who built all this?” Another answers, “Well, who builds anything in this country?”
In the third clip, “Speak Upon the Ashes,” Jenkins offers a sampling of Britell’s original score over shots of various locations throughout the series. The final video, “In Aeternum,” provides glimpses of various characters' journeys that will unfold over the course of 10 episodes.
In addition to revealing the clips, Amazon has also shared an illustrated poster for the series and stills from two episodes.
The Underground Railroad premieres May 14, 2021 on Amazon.
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