THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
Based on the novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, and directed by Barry Jenkins, “The Underground Railroad” is an American historical drama streaming television series that premiered on Friday, May 14, 2021, on Amazon.
A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.
“The Underground Railroad” is the story of Cora (Thuso Mbedu), a slave on a Georgia plantation in the mid-1800s who escapes with another slave named Caesar (Aaron Pierre) and finds her way to the Underground Railroad, reimagined here as an actual rail system complete with conductors, engineers, and trains.
In the premiere, Cora is told that she will see America as she looks out the window of the train, and the arc of the series fulfills that in a sense as she’s taken across the country, first to a community that seems safer but harbors dark secrets and through the heartland of the nation in a way that makes her confront her past and future. A vicious slave catcher named Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton) tracks her, but the limited series is more than a mere chase story. The overall arc of Cora’s narrative ebbs and flows through viciously realistic violence and into more dreamlike fantasies and back again.
Where can I watch “The Underground Railroad”?
Exclusively available for streaming on Amazon Prime (Cancel Anytime).