Miniseries · Prime Video
The Underground Railroad
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Thuso Mbedu
Cora Randall
10 eps
Chase W. Dillon
Homer
10 eps
Joel Edgerton
Arnold Ridgeway
10 eps
Kylee D. Allen
Molly
4 eps
Trayce Malachi
Chester
1 eps
Zsané Jhé
Lovey
1 eps
Danny Boyd Jr.
Young Mack
1 eps
MK Smith
Francis
1 eps
Sean Bridgers
Fletcher
1 eps
Megan Boone
Miss Lucy
1 eps
Will Poulter
Sam
1 eps
Benjamin Walker
Terrance Randall
2 eps
Devyn A. Tyler
Meg
1 eps
Stevie Baggs Jr.
Jacob
1 eps
Mychal-Bella Bowman
Grace
1 eps
Elizabeth Youman
Louisa
1 eps
Fred Hechinger
Young Arnold Ridgeway
1 eps
Calvin Leon Smith
Jasper
2 eps
Irone Singleton
Mack
1 eps
Lily Rabe
Ethel
2 eps
Damon Herriman
Martin
2 eps
David Wilson Barnes
Jamison
2 eps
Lucy Faust
Fiona
2 eps
LaChanze
Ms Reva
1 eps
Donald Watkins
Rumsey Brooks
1 eps
Ryan James
Red
3 eps
Chukwudi Iwuji
Mingo
2 eps
Déjá Dee
Sybil
1 eps
Lucius Baston
Prideful
3 eps
Sheila Atim
Mabel
5 eps
Jeff Pope
Connelly
3 eps
Marcus Gladney Jr.
Ellis
2 eps
Abigail Achiri
Polly
1 eps
Luray Cooper
Jockey
2 eps
Kevin Savage
James Fulton
1 eps
Linda D Gaines
Conductor (uncredited)
1 eps
Amber Gray
Gloria Valentine
2 eps
Aaron Pierre
Caesar
4 eps
William Jackson Harper
Royal
3 eps
Peter Mullan
Ridgeway Senior
3 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How The Underground Railroad actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
The Underground Railroad reads strongest on Character Depth, Bingeability and Serialized.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Follow young Cora’s journey as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping her 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.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E01
Chapter 1: Georgia
When Caesar convinces Cora to escape from Randall plantation in Georgia their lives are irrevocably changed. They discover the impossible in an underground railroad which takes them on an unexpected journey and reveals the true face of America.
- Directed by Barry Jenkins
S01E02
Chapter 2: South Carolina
Griffin, South Carolina – a seeming paradise of progress and racial harmony that hides dark secrets, especially the secrets of “Bessie" and "Christian." Meanwhile, bounty hunter Arnold Ridgeway begins his pursuit of Cora.
- Directed by Barry Jenkins
S01E09
Chapter 9: Indiana Winter
Cora’s presence as a fugitive ignites tensions amongst the Valentine community. Just as she was beginning to make this her home, chaos reigns.
- Directed by Barry Jenkins
S01E03
Chapter 3: North Carolina
Cora reaches a dangerous small town in North Carolina where she must secret away in an abolitionist’s attic while putting everyone’s lives in danger.
- Directed by Barry Jenkins
S01E10
Chapter 10: Mabel
In this tale of motherhood, the beginning is the end is the beginning... for both mother and daughter.
- Directed by Barry Jenkins
S01E06
Chapter 6: Tennessee - Proverbs
For Arnold Ridgeway, a journey home reveals that "the past is not past." And a chance encounter with a freedman named Royal gives Cora new hope.
- Directed by Barry Jenkins
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
Barry Jenkins
Showrunner
Colson Whitehead
Executive producer
Sara Murphy
Executive producer
Mark Ceryak
Executive producer
Adele Romanski
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Richard Heus
Executive producer
Dede Gardner
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Jacqueline Hoyt
Executive producer
Jeremy Kleiner
Executive producer
Brad Pitt
Executive producer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Colson WhiteheadExecutive Producer
- Barry JenkinsExecutive Producer
- Sara MurphyExecutive Producer
- Mark CeryakExecutive Producer
- Adele RomanskiExecutive Producer
- Richard HeusExecutive Producer
Direction
- Barry JenkinsDirector
Cinematography
- James LaxtonDirector of Photography
Music
- Nicholas BritellOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon Prime VideoStreaming
- Amazon Prime Video with AdsStreaming
- ThirteenStreaming
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