First Underground Railroad Trailer Reveals Barry Jenkins’ Highly-Anticipated Amazon Series

Amazon has released the first full official trailer for The Underground Railroad, directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Jenkins. The 10-episode limited series is based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, with Jenkins serving as the project’s showrunner.

According to a press release,

The Underground Railroad chronicles Cora Randall’s (newcomer Thuso Mbedu) desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping a Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.

Over the course of her journey, Cora is pursued by Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton), a bounty hunter who is fixated on bringing her back to the plantation she escaped; especially since her mother Mabel is the only one he has never caught.

As she travels from state to state, Cora contends with the legacy of the mother that left her behind and her own struggles to realize a life she never thought was possible.

The series also stars Chase W. Dillon, Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Sheila Atim, Amber Gray, Peter De Jersey, Chukwudi Iwuji, Damon Herriman, Lily Rabe, Irone Singleton, Mychal-Bella Bowman, Marcus “MJ” Gladney, Jr., Will Poulter and Peter Mullan.

All 10 episodes will premiere May 14th on Amazon Prime; check out the trailer below: