Amazon lands Barry Jenkins to direct 'The Underground Railroad' limited series

Image from The Undefeated

By Darian Scalamoni

            It seems that Amazon is continuing their streak of bringing in film and television powerhouses to adapt for their streaming service with them headed for a new cream of the crop in the industry. According to Deadline, Amazon is developing a miniseries based on The Underground Railroad written by Colson Whitehead with Moonlight director, Barry Jenkins attached to helm and Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B backing it.

            The Underground Railroad follows a young woman named Cora who makes a desperate attempt to find freedom in the South after escaping her Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad. The book garnered massive attention and accolades as it won the National Book Award just last year. This sounds like a great project not only for Amazon but also for Jenkins, whose film, Moonlight won Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. It will most likely be a gritty look at the secret railroad that housed slaves that were fleeing the South to freedom.

            In addition to this project, Amazon has greenlit plenty of other series from experienced filmmakers including Nicolas Winding Refn, Woody Allen and Jill Soloway so it seems like a good place to house a series from Jenkins. The Oscar-winning filmmaker is also developing his next feature film that will be a sports drama following Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a female boxer from Flint, Michigan who trained to be the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.