Underground (TV series)
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Underground |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 2016-2017 |
| length | 43 minutes |
| Episodes | 20 in 2 seasons |
| genre | Story , drama |
| idea | Misha Green and Joe Pokaski |
| First broadcast | March 9, 2016 (USA) on WGN America |
| occupation | |
| |
Underground is an American television series designed and produced by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski . The action drama takes place during the time of slavery in the United States and revolves around the daring escape of a group of slaves who want to escape to the northern states 600 miles away via the legendary underground railroad escape network . In the course of the series, the characters also meet famous historical personalities such as the escape helper Harriet Tubman and the abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Still .
The series consists of two seasons with 20 episodes and was broadcast from March 9, 2016 to May 10, 2017 on WGN America .
action
In 1857, a few years before the outbreak of the American Civil War , the young slave Noah plots his escape from a cotton plantation in Georgia deep in the southern states . Gradually he succeeds in recruiting fellow campaigners, among other things. a the young Henry, the carpenter Sam and the slave priest Moses. Believing that Moses could read, Noah asks him to read a document that he came across during his first failed attempt to escape. It is said to contain escape instructions. When it turns out that in truth Moses' wife, Pearly Mae, is the one who can read, the document is presented to her. She deciphered it as an encrypted escape song and sang it. Moses and Pearly Mae decide to venture away with Noah's group together with their little daughter Boo. When the overseer Cato finds out about Noah's plan, he too joins surprisingly instead of betraying the group to the master. At first undecided, Sam's sister Rosalee, a young house slave, is finally involved in the plan. She helps with forging papers for the group, but something goes wrong just before the daring plan can be implemented.
Noah and Rosalee flee alone in a panic and the rest of the group is forced to leave at an inconvenient time.
Professional bounty hunters, including August Pullmann and his young son Ben, who is gradually becoming increasingly disgusted with his father's business, are soon on the heels of the hastily fled group.
The flight of the so-called Macon 7 is also putting plantation owner Tom Macon under pressure, who absolutely wants to become a senator. The northerner who got into possession of the Macon plantation through marriage, tries to ingratiate himself with the southerners in order to prove himself as a real slave owner. Rosalee and her little brother James are his children from his relationship with the house slave Ernestine, who remains on the plantation and is now struggling with the consequences of fleeing - especially when a fanatical priest visits the plantation. Young James is soon removed as a playmate to his half-brother and plantation heir T. R. Macon and sent to work hard in the cotton fields. Ernestine's eldest son Sam, who had decided at the last minute not to flee with Noah and the others, is now in danger.
Meanwhile, Tom Macon's brother John Hawkes, a lawyer and anti-slavery opponent, decides to make his house available as a station on the Underground Railroad escape network after being asked to do so by the well-known black abolitionist William Still . His wife Elizabeth, who is initially against it, soon changes her mind and agrees to have a false floor installed in the house. The two quickly end up in great danger.
It doesn't take long for slaves, abolitionists, and slave hunters to cross paths.
main characters
- Rosalee
In contrast to the field slaves, the daughter of the slave and Mamsell Ernestine and the plantation owner Tom Macon have so far lived a relatively privileged and sheltered life as a house slave. When a series of unforeseen events occur, the young reluctant woman is forced to join Noah's escape plans. On the dangerous path to freedom, she gains unprecedented self-confidence and shows her courage.
- Noah
Driven by the thought of shaking off the bonds of slavery, the young field slave Noah works tirelessly to escape from the Macon plantation. After receiving an enigmatic encoded song from a dying slave that points the way to the north, he recruits a number of comrades-in-arms who ultimately manage to escape as the Macon 7 .
- Elizabeth Hawkes
The young Northerner and her husband, lawyer John Hawkes, are anti-slavery and eventually decide to make their house available as a station on the Underground Railroad. As part of the secret and illegal escape network that smuggles slaves from the southern states into the safe northern states, they are soon taking great risks.
- Cato
The unscrupulous, cunning slave Cato is viewed with suspicion as the plantation overseer by the other slaves, but surprisingly joins the Macon 7. On the run with Noah, the embittered man seems ready to walk over corpses if it is to his advantage.
- August Pullman
The mysterious, silent father of ten-year-old Ben hires out as a bounty hunter for runaway slaves in order to pay the treatment costs of his wife who has gone mad. He moves on a fine line between morality and immorality, lust for hunting and lack of money. He is closely following the Macon 7.
- Ernestine
The Mamsell of the Macon plantation seems to have everything under control, because as the highest house slave she enjoys unusually great power and influence over the Macon family. Inwardly, however, she is constantly plagued by concerns for the safety of her children Sam, Rosalee and James. Her complicated love affair with plantation owner Tom Macon is for her both a source of affection and an opportunity to protect her children, but it also constantly forces them to manipulate and pretend to be stressful for them.
occupation
Main cast
| Role name | actor |
|---|---|
| Rosalee | Jurnee-Smollett-Bell |
| Noah | Aldis Hodge |
| Elizabeth Hawkes | Jessica De Gouw |
| Cato | Alano Miller |
| August Pullman | Christopher Meloni |
| Ernestine | Amirah Vann |
| John Hawkes | Marc Blucas |
Supporting cast
| Role name | actor |
|---|---|
| Tom Macon | Reed Diamond |
| Ben Pullman | Brady Permenter |
| Boo | Darielle Stewart |
| Henry | Renwick D. Scott II |
| Sam | Johnny Ray Gill |
| Moses | Mykelti Williamson |
| Pearly Mae | Adina Porter |
| Suzanna Macon | Andrea Frankle |
| TR Macon | Toby Nichols |
| James | Maceo Smedley |
| Marshal Kyle Risdin | James Lafferty |
| Zeke | Theodus Crane |
| Bill Meekes | PJ Marshall |
| William Still | Chris Chalk |
| Jeremiah Johnson | Christopher Backus |
production
Conception and development
The initial spark for a series about the Underground Railroad got the series creator Misha Green from her sister, who threw in this idea one day during a conversation. Green was enthusiastic about the idea, she began to research the historical background and brought Joe Pokaski on board, whom she knew from her work for the series Heroes . The two authors found great narrative potential in the historical accounts of slaves, which they then listened to in the Library of Congress . For example, a letter from a young domestic slave in which she weighs up whether or not to try to escape inspired the later main character of Rosalee in the series. A central core of the story should also be to portray the slaves as actively acting people and not as passive victims.
WGN America ordered a first season with 10 episodes on February 27, 2015. Since Underground quickly became the most successful series of the station, the station extended a second season with ten episodes just one month after it was first broadcast. Underground is implemented by Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios on behalf of broadcaster WGN America. The series creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski act as showrunners, scriptwriters and producers at the same time. a. supported by co-producer John Legends, who also embodies the character Frederick Douglass from season two. For the first season, the action of which is set in the state of Georgia, locations in Louisiana were chosen. In order to create the fictional Macon plantation, location manager Jimi Woods had the gardens and mansion of the former sugar cane plantation Felicity Plantation restored in an authentic antebellum style. Since the climate in Louisiana is not suitable for cotton, even a small artificial cotton field with glued-on cotton tufts was created and later digitally enlarged to represent the plantation. Original huts from the Burden Plantation, which are exhibited in the Rural Life Museum of Louisiana State University and are among the few surviving evidence of this type in the southern United States, served as slave quarters. The secret hiding places in the houses of the abolitionists who help slaves escape on the Underground Railroad, on the other hand, were built on a clay stage in Baton Rouge.
music
The series uses deliberately anachronistic music. Underground creator Misha Green took this idea from The Great Gatsby to "build a bridge between past and present and show [viewers] that [people] weren't that much different back then." Co-producer John Legend , whose company Get Lifted is responsible for the background music for Underground, selected many modern pieces, including a. Kanye West 's Black Skinhead for the opening scene in which Noah is being chased by slave hunters. There are also older works from other genres, such as the Negro Spiritual All God's Children Got Shoes and the lullaby Summertime from the opera Porgy & Bess .
The series music, composed by Emmy Award winner Laura Karpman and Grammy winner Raphael Saadiq , makes use of various musical genres, ranging from classical music to southern rock and R&B to West African music.
The theme song Heaven's Door was written by Angelique Cinelu and Curtis Richardson and sung by Alice Smith .
Charisma
The first season of Underground premiered on March 9, 2016 in the United States, and the second season followed on March 8, 2017. At the same time, the series was broadcast in Canada on Bravo . In 2017, the first season of Underground was also available on the Australian streaming platform Stan.
Episode list
- season 1
| No. | Original title | First broadcast (WGN) |
Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Macon 7 | March 9, 2016 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green , Joe Pokaski |
| 2 | Was Chest | March 16, 2016 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 3 | The Lord's Day | March 23, 2016 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 4th | Firefly | March 30, 2016 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 5 |
Run & Gun |
April 6, 2016 | Romeo Tirone | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 6th | Troubled water | April 13, 2016 | Romeo Tirone | Jason Wilborne, Jennifer Yale |
| 7th | Cradle | April 20, 2016 | Kate Woods | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 8th | Graves | April 27, 2016 | Kate Woods | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 9 | Black & Blue | 4th May 2016 | Tim Hunter | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 10 | The White Whale | May 11, 2016 | Tim Hunter | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
- season 2
| No. | Original title | First broadcast (WGN) |
Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contraband | March 8, 2017 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 2 | Things Unsaid | March 13, 2017 | Greg Yaitanes | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 3 | Ache | 22nd March 2017 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 4th | Nok Aaut | 29th March 2017 | Salli-Richardson-Whitfield | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 5 | Whiteface | 5th April 2017 | Salli Richardson-Whitfield | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 6th | Minty | April 12, 2017 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 7th | 28 | 19th April 2017 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 8th | Auld aquaintance | April 26, 2017 | Christopher Meloni | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 9 | Citizen | May 3, 2017 | Lawrence Trilling | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
| 10 | Soldier | May 10, 2017 | Anthony Hemingway | Misha Green, Joe Pokaski |
reception
“As creator, writer, and executive producer of Underground, Misha Green is personalizing a time period usually depicted with cliches or, worse, heavy-handed characterizations. […] Her characters - including Smollett-Bell's Rosalee - get to laugh and cry and actually debate their lot in life. She can wonder: To run or not to run? "
“As a creator, screenwriter and executive producer, Misha Green brings us closer to a time that is usually portrayed using clichés, or worse, clumsy characterization […] Her characters - including Smollett-Bell's Rosalee - are allowed to laugh, cry and their fate contemplate. You can ask yourself: to flee or not to flee? "
'Underground' delights in confounding expectations, particularly in tone, which is more action-adventure than solemn historical drama. [… It] may be the first antebellum drama with a hip-hop beat. […] Even with its flaws, 'Underground 'is a significant show. [… It] tells a story we have not seen, a story we need to see: […] The Underground Railroad didn't just deliver thousands to freedom, it made the hideous contradiction of slavery in a democracy too conspicuous to ignore.
“'Underground' likes to amaze expectations, especially when it comes to the tone, which is more like an action adventure than a serious historical drama. [… It] could be the first pre-war drama with a hip-hop beat. […] Despite its weaknesses, 'Underground' is an important series. [... It] tells a story that we have never seen before, that we have to see: [...] The Underground Railroad not only helped thousands to freedom, it also exposed the hideous contrast of slavery in a democracy, so that he did not more could be ignored. "
Awards and nominations
Awards
- African-American Film Critics Association Award 2016
- Winner in the category "Best TV Show (Cable / New Media)"
- Winner in the category "Best Cable / New Media TV Show"
- Second place in the "Top 10 TV Shows" category
Nominations
- American Society of Cinematographers Award, 2017
- Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series for Commercial Television ( Kevin McNight ) for the episode The Macon 7
- Hollywood Post Alliance Award, 2016
- Nomination for the category Outstanding Editing - Television (Zack Arnold and Ian S. Tan) for the episode The Macon 7
- Television Critics Association Awards, 2016
- Nomination for the Outstanding New Program category
- Image Awards , 2017
- Nomination for the Outstanding Drama Series category
- Nomination for the category Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Jurnee Smollett-Bell
- Nomination for the category Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Amirah Vann
- Nomination for the category Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series ( Anthony Hemingway ) for the episode The Macon 7
Web links
- Underground in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ 'Underground' Creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski on Their Bold First Season . In: Flavorwire . May 11, 2016 ( flavorwire.com [accessed March 13, 2017]).
- ↑ Cynthia Littleton: WGN America Gives Series Order to Slavery Drama 'Underground' . In: Variety . February 27, 2015 ( variety.com [accessed March 9, 2017]).
- ↑ Tribune Media | WGN America Renews Standout Series 'Underground' for a Second Season. Retrieved March 9, 2017 (American English).
- ↑ John Legend plays Frederick Douglass in "Underground" Season 2, WGN America's critically acclaimed drama. In: FOX6Now.com. March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017 .
- ^ How a New TV Show Recreates the Underground Railroad and Slave Experience. March 17, 2016, accessed March 13, 2017 .
- ↑ Elizabeth Logan: 'Underground' Isn't Afraid To Challenge What A TV Show About Slavery Should Be Like | IndieWire. Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
- ↑ John Legend Lends A Musical Hand To 'Underground,' New WGN America Series . In: Billboard . ( billboard.com [accessed March 5, 2017]).
- ↑ Kara Cutruzulla: Television is the antidote to #OscarsSoWhite. In: New York Times. June 4, 2016, accessed March 1, 2017 .
- ^ Mary McNamara: The slave escape drama 'Underground' is a flawed but important retelling of America's original sin. In: Los Angeles Times. March 9, 2016, accessed March 1, 2017 .