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The Underground Railroad discovered in first trailer for Amazon series

Newcomer Thuso Mbedu goes in search of freedom in the atmospheric trailer for The Underground Railroad.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by US author Colson Whitehead, the 10-part series will tell the story of Cora Randall, played by Mbedu, as she flees a Georgia plantation and slavery.

She goes in search of the rumoured Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses, but instead finds an actual railroad, manned by engineers and conductors, hidden beneath the southern state.

The two-minute teaser sees Randall pursued by Ridgeway, played by Australian star Joel Edgerton, a bounty hunter fixated on bringing her back to the plantation.

Watch: New York City And The Underground Railroad

As she travels from state to state, she confronts the legacy of her mother Mabel, who also escaped to freedom and was pursued unsuccessfully by Ridgeway.

Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins, whose credits include Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, is showrunner and directs all 10 episodes of the limited series.

Joel Edgerton plays bounty hunter Ridgeway (Amazon Prime Video/PA)
Joel Edgerton plays bounty hunter Ridgeway (Amazon Prime Video/PA)

US novelist Whitehead features among the executive producers.

The Underground Railroad also stars Chase W Dillon, Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Sheila Atim, Amber Gray, Will Poulter and Peter Mullan.

All episodes will launch on May 14 on Amazon Prime Video.

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