WGN America's 'Underground' Pilot: John Legend, Jurnee Smollett Key Art, Premiere Date

WGN America has released tan all-new key art and promo of their upcoming drama Underground. Check out a behind-the-scenes look at the highly anticipated pilot of the original series featuring Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, and John Legend before the official March premiere date.

As we previously mentioned, the period drama takes place in the antebellum South as a band of plantation slaves attempt to make a perilous escape. During this time period, the slaves at a plantation risk everything for a chance at freedom. They all want to head on over to the North and escape on the Underground Railroad. The show will also examine the lives of slaveholders, slave hunters, and abolitionists.

The ensemble cast boasts boasts an ensemble cast, that includes Jessica De Gouw (Arrow and Dracula), Alano Miller (Jane The Virgin), Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU) and Jussie Smollett (Empire). The pilot is written by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, who also serves as executive producer alongside Tory Tunnell, Joby Harold, and Academy Award-winning writer Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind). Academy award winning musician John Legend has signed on as executive producer, along with Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius, from his production company, Get Lifted.

According to Indie Wire, the poster and a behind-the-scenes featurette were unveiled by WGN. Entitled "The Music of Underground," executive producer Legend, music composer Raphael Saadiq and multi-Emmy Award winner Laura Karpman discuss the musical choices they picked for the WGN drama and how they came up with main title theme, "Heaven's Door."

Transcribed by Billboard, the Academy Award winning Selma composer explains why he chose contemporary songs like Kanye West's Black Skinhead  to rock classics like Johnny Cash's I Got Shoes, "Part of my job as executive produce is to curate the music of the show, We're altogether trying to create a soundscape that fits with the show's urgency and power."

Underground premieres March 9 on WGN America.

Readers, are you excited to see Underground?