casting

William Jackson Harper Joins Amazon’s Underground Railroad

Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images

William Jackson Harper will have a recurring role in the long-gestating Underground Railroad. Barry Jenkins will direct all episodes of the series adapted from Colson Whitehead’s book. The series will follow Cora, a slave on a plantation in Georgia, as she journeys to freedom on the titular railroad. According to Deadline, Harper will play Royal, a freeborn man Cora meets while traveling to freedom. The news comes as welcome relief to those who are terrified of losing a weekly dose of Harper when The Good Place ends this season. Announced back in 2016, it was stated earlier this year that Thuso Mbedu, Aaron Pierre and Chase W. Dillon would star as Cora, Caesar, and Homer, respectively.

William Jackson Harper Joins Amazon’s Underground Railroad