Hollywood’s enchantment with slavery-themed edutainment will resume come 2016 when Chicago channel WGN rolls out its new series, Underground. The title of the upcoming show alludes to the famed Underground Railroad that always kept Harriet Tubman’s name at the forefront of Black History Month teachings. Such cinematic television calls for an equally riveting score and that’s where Kanye West comes in. High Snobiety is reporting that Yeezus himself has been enlisted to be the executive producer for Underground in the same vein Timbaland is to Empire. The 10-part series is said to chronicle a group of a group of Georgia runaway slaves who keep their eyes on the prize as they flee their plantation in search of a salvation in the North. The Grammy Award-winning musician isn’t the only notable name lending star power to the show, either. Christopher Meloni (True Blood, Oz,), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (True Blood, The Great Debaters; brother to Empire’s Jussie Smollet) Mykelti Williamson (Justified, Forest Gump) Devon Gummersall (Mad Men) and Aldis Hodge (Leverage, Straight Outta Compton) have all been cast for the drama. The Sony Pictures TV and Tribune Studios show will begin filming next spring and will be executive produced by Akiva Goldsman and penned by former Heroes writers Misha Green and Joe Pokaski. Look for it to push the envelope. Check out the pictures of the cast members in the gallery below. — Photo: Daniel Deme/WENN.com
