Underground
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Underground is an American historical period drama and thriller television series that dramatically portrays the harrowing experiences of enslaved people in Antebellum Georgia as they plot a daring escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. The series, co-created by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, blends historical narratives with modern cinematic techniques and a contemporary soundtrack, offering a unique and intense viewing experience. It focuses on a diverse group of characters, known as the 'Macon 7,' highlighting their struggles, resilience, and complex moral choices in the face of immense brutality and injustice. The show is intended for mature audiences due to its graphic depictions of violence, sexual content, and thematic intensity, which are inherent to its subject matter.
Things to Consider
Violence
The series contains frequent and graphic depictions of violence, integral to portraying the brutal realities of slavery. This includes whippings, beatings, executions, and murders, often shown with visible injuries and significant emotional distress.
In a harrowing scene from the pilot, Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) begs a slave driver to whip her instead of her younger brother, resulting in her being repeatedly lashed on the forearm, tearing 'bloody strips off her skin.' Rosalee’s mother, Ernestine (Amirah Vann), murders another woman to protect her family. The character Cato is depicted with a half-burned face, a result of prior punishment for attempting to run away.
Romance and Sexual Content
The show includes explicit sexual content and addresses the sexual exploitation inherent in slavery. This involves scenes of implied sexual acts, prostitution, and discussions around leveraging sexual relationships for survival or gain.
Substance Use
The series prominently features substance use, particularly in Season 2, where a main character struggles with addiction as a coping mechanism for severe trauma and loss. Alcohol consumption is also present in social settings.
Scary & Intense Content
The series is consistently high in intensity and suspense, immersing viewers in the constant fear and danger inherent to escaping slavery. It includes graphic violence, psychological torment, and life-threatening situations that create a pervasive sense of dread and horror.
Disrespect & Rebellion
Disrespect is a core theme, highlighted by the systemic dehumanization of enslaved people by their owners. The central plot is driven by acts of rebellion and defiance by the enslaved characters who risk everything to escape, directly challenging the established unjust authority.
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LGBTQ & Gender Identity
While there is no overt on-screen LGBTQ representation across the twenty episodes, actress Jasika Nicole, who plays the abolitionist character Georgia, stated in an interview that her character is gay. However, this aspect of her sexuality is not explicitly indicated or explored within the series itself.
Profanity
The series incorporates strong language, reflecting the intense and desperate situations faced by the characters. Co-creators aimed to push boundaries regarding dialogue and language to accurately convey the historical period.
Anti-Christian Themes
The series does not overtly promote anti-Christian themes. However, it implicitly critiques the hypocrisy of slave owners who claim Christian faith while perpetrating immense cruelty. Some enslaved characters grapple with their faith in the face of suffering, questioning God's role in their plight.
Witchcraft & Occult
There are no explicit depictions of witchcraft, sorcery, or occult rituals within the series. However, one character experiences what appear to be hallucinations of a deceased loved one, which is linked to her grief and substance abuse rather than genuine supernatural phenomena.
Underground presents a profoundly challenging and often heartbreaking worldview, directly confronting the biblical contradiction of slavery and the systemic dehumanization it entailed. The core themes of freedom, justice, and the inherent value of every human life resonate strongly with biblical principles, while the institution of slavery itself stands in stark opposition to the Christian call for love, compassion, and equality. The series implicitly critiques the hypocrisy of those who claimed Christian faith yet upheld or profited from slavery, portraying the moral rot within such a system. Character morality is complex and nuanced. Enslaved characters are often forced into morally ambiguous actions, including violence, deception, and even murder, as acts of survival and resistance; these choices are presented within the context of extreme oppression. Virtue is often rewarded with fleeting moments of freedom or survival, while vice, particularly among the enslavers, frequently goes unpunished by earthly systems. However, the series highlights the profound spiritual and psychological toll of such moral compromises, even for those striving for good. Family values are powerfully portrayed, as the love for family often serves as the primary motivation for characters to endure unimaginable hardships and risk their lives for escape. Faith representation is present, often as a source of strength and comfort, such as Pearly Mae reading the Bible to her husband. Yet, faith is also a point of deep spiritual wrestling, with characters like Moses questioning God's will in allowing slavery, and Ernestine expressing profound despair and a sense of damnation, reflecting the immense suffering that challenged traditional religious comfort. The show emphasizes the human spirit's transcendent desire for freedom and dignity even in the most barbaric conditions, suggesting a spiritual longing beyond material existence, even if explicitly spiritual resolutions are rare.
Additional Context
Best For Ages
TV-MA. The series features pervasive graphic violence, including whippings and murders, explicit sexual content, and mature themes related to slavery, psychological trauma, and substance abuse. It is designed for adult audiences capable of processing disturbing historical realities.
Good to Know
The series ran for two seasons on WGN America (2016-2017) before its cancellation, with rebroadcast rights later acquired by the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). A notable stylistic choice is the incorporation of contemporary music, such as Kanye West's 'Black Skinhead' in the opening scene, into the historical drama, which some viewers found enhances the modern feel while others felt it disrupted the period authenticity.
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