Underground

The show places a large black cast at the center, including Rosalee, Noah, Ernestine, Cato, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass. The period setting makes most of these choices historically expected because the story follows enslaved black people and real Black abolitionists. Interviews and teaching material also frame the series as a way to give black stories and voices more space, which adds a mild representation signal.

The characters repeatedly talk about freedom, racial power, and who receives protection from the law. John Hawkes and Tom Macon debate whether white lives matter more than black lives, and season two uses Sojourner Truth’s words and Harriet Tubman’s speech about resistance. The period setting explains much of this talk, but the show gives it clear modern activist echoes.

The show makes Black freedom and Black control over one’s choices the main story across both seasons. Rosalee changes from a sheltered house slave into the Black Rose, Harriet Tubman leads escape work, and Daniel risks torture to teach reading. Season two also puts women at the center of resistance through Rosalee, Harriet, Elizabeth, Georgia, Ernestine, and Clara. The story repeatedly presents group action and Black self-rule as the answer to a racist system.

The show presents the slave economy, courts, churches, and political leaders as linked parts of a system that protects white power. John Hawkes sees the law fail Noah, while Elizabeth and Georgia rob a pro-slavery church and destroy voting booths. The story treats reading, voting, and organized resistance as ways to break that system. The slavery setting explains much of the criticism, but the repeated system-wide message gives it a moderate activist edge.

Misha Green has a strong record of black-centered stories and racial-justice themes. Joe Pokaski has repeated social themes in Underground and Cloak & Dagger. John Legend and Get Lifted producers have public ties to racial justice and work that raises underrepresented voices. Other listed creators have weaker or less political records, so the context supports a medium-high score.