'Underground': Watch the Action-Packed Trailer for John Legend's New Slavery Drama

WGN America continues to mine America’s past for new drama series. In addition to a supernatural take on the Salem Witch trials (Salem) and a dramatic recounting of the Manhattan Project (Manhattan), the network is now preparing to launch Underground, an action-packed account of the Underground Railroad, the intricate series of secret paths and safe houses that spirited hundreds of thousands of African-American slaves to freedom before the Civil War.

The first trailers for the John Legend-executive produced series premiered today, offering a sneak peek at the escape plan orchestrated by a group of slaves toiling on a George plantation. It’s the aptly-named Noah (Aldis Hodge) who decides to lead a mission out of servitude on a journey that will transport them almost 600 miles through hostile territory. Other cast members glimpsed in the trailer include Jurnee Smollett-Bell as “big house” servant Rosalee, who becomes part of the escape plan, and Christopher Meloni as secretive mercenary August Pullman. Based on these two trailers, we’re ready to take the journey.

Underground premieres Mar. 9 on WGN America