Amazon Greenlights Barry Jenkins & Plan B’s ‘Underground Railroad’ Limited Series With Jenkins Directing

Amazon Studios landed the new take on the story of the underground railroad from Jenkins’ PASTEL and Brad Pitt’s Plan B, in March 2017 with a script-to-series commitment.

The project is based on Colson Whitehead’s bestselling novel The Underground Railroad, which won a Pulitzer Prize a month after Amazon bought the adaptation. The book, which drew critical praise for its imaginative blend of history and magical fable – moving beyond the boundaries of realism in its depiction of a mythical underground train that transports slaves across an alternate America — also was a 2016 National Book Award winner and Oprah Book Club pick.

“Working with Amazon and a wonderful group of screenwriters to develop Colson’s novel into a limited series has been an extremely rewarding experience,” Jenkins said. “Translating his singular voice into a cohesive and equally singular visual language is a task I very much look forward to.”

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