WGN America's 'Underground' Pilot: Aldis Hodge, Jurnee Smollett Premiere Date, Promo, Trailers

WGN America has released an all-new promo and trailers of their upcoming drama Underground. Check out footage from the highly anticipated pilot of the original series starring Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, and Alano Miller 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.

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, and states, "We are excited to join forces with WGN America and Sony and the talented team of writers and producers on this powerful project that we believe will inspire us all. This series has a unique opportunity to speak to the passion and courage of those who risked it all as they raced to freedom. We are honored to bring our creative vision to this thrilling project."

According to TV Line, the two trailers, entitled Wanted and The Plan, "provide introductions to the runaway slaves, the plantation owners who aim to keep them captive and the good-natured allies who provide shelter along the way."

In an interview with Indiewire, producer Mike Jackson explains the use of "Black Skinhead" by  Kanye West, "The first song that opens the series is Kanye West's "Black Skinhead," which sets you up for the ride that you are about to go on. I'm not going to go into too much about the music because it's still top secret, but there is some great music that is in store for the show. We actually wrote an incredible main title song called "Heaven's Door" which we are really excited about. It's a Negro spiritual with a lot of contemporary flavor."

We also mentioned, 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).

Underground premieres March 9, 2016 on WGN America.

Readers, are you excited to see Underground?