37th Film Independent Spirit Awards: “The Underground Railroad”

The Underground Railroad

Best New Scripted Series
Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series

Series Synopsis

Based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad chronicles Cora Randall’s desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping a Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad beneath the Southern soil.

Looking at Best New Scripted Series

Ever since being nominated for the Someone to Watch Award back in 2009, the Film Independent has been watching Barry Jenkins. The man is prolific when it comes to packing huge emotions into a small budget. “The Underground Railroad” may have been the first series I watched of the Best New Scripted Series contenders, but damn does it set the bar high. The cast is stellar across the board, the concepts burrow in your brain, and, at least at this moment, I find it hard to beat.

Best New Scripted Series
RANKING

1. “The Underground Railroad”

Character Synopsis

Thuso Mbedu plays Cora Randall, an escaped slave from the antebellum South. After escaping a Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad beneath the Southern soil.

Looking at Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series

Cora Randall is one of my favorite characters out of anything from 2021. She’s powerful, yet delicate, forcefully driven but eternally exhausted. Thuso Mbedu looks both extremely young and wise beyond her years and fits the role perfectly. Occupying the headspace to return to this era has to be taxing for anyone. But to turn out a performance as memorable as this one while doing so is nothing short of miraculous.

Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series
RANKING

1. Thuso Mbedu — “The Underground Railroad”

Viewing Information

INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS — SERIES #1 of 14
DECEMBER 27, 2021 – JANUARY 1, 2022
PRIME VIDEO