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The Underground Railroad

  • TV Mini Series
  • 2021
  • TV-MA
  • 9h 53m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
7.8K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,623
117
The Underground Railroad (2021)
A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.
Play trailer2:00
6 Videos
49 Photos
DramaFantasyHistory

A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.

  • Stars
    • Thuso Mbedu
    • Chase Dillon
    • Joel Edgerton
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    7.8K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,623
    117
    • Stars
      • Thuso Mbedu
      • Chase Dillon
      • Joel Edgerton
    • 154User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 7 Primetime Emmys
      • 15 wins & 68 nominations total

    Episodes10

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 Season2021

    Videos6

    May's Most Anticipated Streaming Titles
    Clip 3:51
    Watch May's Most Anticipated Streaming Titles
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:00
    Watch Official Trailer
    Teaser Trailer
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Teaser Trailer
    The Underground Railroad
    Trailer 1:53
    Watch The Underground Railroad
    The Underground Railroad: Building The Underground Railroad
    Trailer 3:35
    Watch The Underground Railroad: Building The Underground Railroad
    The Underground Railroad: Season 1
    Trailer 0:29
    Watch The Underground Railroad: Season 1

    Photos49

    Sheila Atim in The Underground Railroad (2021)
    The Underground Railroad (2021)
    The Underground Railroad (2021)
    The Underground Railroad (2021)
    Joel Edgerton in The Underground Railroad (2021)
    Peter Mullan in The Underground Railroad (2021)
    The Underground Railroad (2021)
    The Underground Railroad (2021)
    The Underground Railroad (2021)
    Sheila Atim in The Underground Railroad (2021)
    Thuso Mbedu in The Underground Railroad (2021)
    Thuso Mbedu at an event for The 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards (2022)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Thuso Mbedu
    Thuso Mbedu
    • Cora
    Chase Dillon
    Chase Dillon
    • Homer
    Joel Edgerton
    Joel Edgerton
    • Ridgeway
    Aaron Pierre
    Aaron Pierre
    • Caesar
    Sheila Atim
    Sheila Atim
    • Mabel
    Peter Mullan
    Peter Mullan
    • Ridgeway Senior
    William Jackson Harper
    William Jackson Harper
    • Royal
    Jeff Pope
    Jeff Pope
    • Connelly
    Lucius Baston
    Lucius Baston
    • Prideful
    Marcus Gladney Jr.
    Marcus Gladney Jr.
    • Ellis
    Kraig Dane
    Kraig Dane
    • Boseman
    Kylee D. Allen
    Kylee D. Allen
    • Molly
    Ryan James
    Ryan James
    • Red
    Mychal-Bella Bowman
    Mychal-Bella Bowman
    • Grace
    Luray Cooper
    Luray Cooper
    • Jockey
    Trevor David
    Trevor David
    • Samson
    Monique Grant
    Monique Grant
    • Agnes
    Sherry Richards
    Sherry Richards
    • Ruth
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The "Underground Railroad" as a train itself/a railroad had never really existed. That name describes a network of secret routes and safe houses during the 19th century across the United States, which helped enslaved African Americans to escape, primarily to Northern States and Canada.
    • Connections
      Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Joel Edgerton/Edward-Isaac Dovere (2021)

    User reviews154

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    Didn't Do For Me What The Source Book Did
    When I read Colson Whitehead's "Underground Railroad" book, I was impressed by the author's ability to capture the essence--both physically and emotionally--of the institution of slavery in the United States. Unfortunately, this Barry Jenkins TV adaptation didn't do nearly as much of that for me.

    For a very basic overview, "The Underground Railroad" tells the story of Cora (Thuso Mbedu), a young woman slave who escapes her Georgia plantation via the help of the Underground Railroad of yore. But in this story, the locomotive is literal as opposed to metaphorical. While continuing to head towards free country, Cora makes numerous stops in varying locales, experiencing the different ways in which African-Americans are treated. All the while, she is pursued by Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton), a slave bounty-hunter with a complicated past of his own.

    From a production value standpoint, there isn't much wrong with "Underground Railroad". It clearly takes it mission very seriously (almost too seriously, in all honesty) and puts to the screen a gritty, realistic vision of Cora's life and times. In other words, I see where a supreme effort was made by all involved to elevate this to classic status.

    But as I hinted, it also seemed like everything here was trying "a bit too hard", so to speak. To the point where I never felt like I emotionally connected with much of the material. For example...

    -The acting seems fine, in a technical sense, but it never once "goes for the throat" in terms of really trying to make a point or punctuate an emotion. It almost exclusively tries to rely on the visuals and realism of the scenes playing out.

    -Cora's journey is supposed to be broad and intriguing, but here it feels disjointed and scattered. Her time with Caesar (Aaron Pierre) and her time with Royal (William Jackson Harper) are indeed unique, but I never saw--in the end--how they dovetailed with each other.

    -A decent amount of time is spent giving Ridgeway a daddy-issues (played by Peter Mullan) backstory, and theoretically that should all work. But the slave-catcher's deeds are so despicable and maniacal that I found it difficult to feel for him on any level other than "villain of the piece".

    -A plot thread involving Cora's mother Mabel (Sheila Atim) is used to end the proceedings, and fell completely flat for me. This was clearly supposed to provide the emotional end-punch of the whole series, but again more just muddied the waters for this viewer.

    About halfway through "Underground Railroad", I had it pegged as 7/10 stars. But after that point, it had little further ground to trod and the endgame didn't compel me to put all the emotional pieces together (hence the middling 5/10 final rating land).

    Of course, I'll always wonder if "Underground Railroad" would have hit different for all viewers had it not debuted during the teeth of a global pandemic. This is a miniseries that doesn't go down easily from a physical or emotional perspective, and perhaps a weary nation wasn't in the mood for such a thing. All told, this is one that ultimately didn't have much of an impact on me one way or the other.
    helpful•15
    5
    • zkonedog
    • Jan 17, 2022

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    FAQ2

    • My kids are studying "The Underground Railroad". Would this be a good movie to watch? Language, Violence, Sex, Nudity. Please advise, thank you. I know it is rated R, but why is it rated R
    • I realize the series is based on a book. Is this series based on factual people or stories?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 14, 2021 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Підземна залізниця
    • Filming locations
      • Dawsonville, Georgia, USA
    • Production companies
      • Amazon Studios
      • Big Indie Pictures
      • PASTEL
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      9 hours 53 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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