2021 Emmy Nominee! Amazon Original Limited Series THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD From Academy Award®-Winner Barry Jenkins Lands 7 Emmy® Nominations – REACTIONS

Amazon Original limited series, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD has received a total of 7 Emmy® nominations, including outstanding limited or anthology series, outstanding directing and cinematography. This is the first Emmy® nomination for Barry Jenkins and James Laxton.

A statement from showrunner, director and writer Barry Jenkins following today’s Emmy nomination:
I’ve never undertaken something quite like our limited series The Underground Railroad but in the process of making it, a lesson I learned as a pupil revealed itself to be viciously true: a director is nothing without their cast, their crew; without the network of hundreds it takes to make a vision like this a dream realized and true. It’s for that reason I want to thank the Television Academy, on behalf of every soul who ever appeared at the bottom or top of any call sheet in our 116 days of shooting, for the recognition of this show alongside the exemplary nominees in the limited series category. It is always “an honor to be nominated.” Today I hope that phrase will serve as a celebration of the wonderful crew that gave this show its fuel and the selfless cast on whose wings it took flight.

A statement from cinematographer James Laxton following today’s Emmy nomination:
Thank you very much to the Television Academy for today’s recognition. Barry Jenkins, you are a visionary storyteller. Thank you for being a collaborator, a leader, and friend. Thank you Colson Whitehead for trusting the team with your visionary book and thank you to Amazon Studios for their commitment to and support of this project. Working on THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD has been a profound experience, and its embrace by the Television Academy today and audiences around the world is an honor I’ll hold close forever

A statement from composer Nicholas Britell following today’s Emmy nomination:
I am profoundly honored to be nominated for the score to The Underground Railroad. My deepest thanks to the Television Academy and also to the entire cast and crew of this truly special show. Working with Barry on this score has been one of the most significant artistic experiences of my life, I am eternally grateful to Barry for his trust and partnership.

A statement from sound editor Onnalee Blank following today’s Emmy nomination:
Thank you very much to the Television Academy for their recognition of the sound department’s work on THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD; we couldn’t be happier. Thank you to the brilliant Joi McMillon and Barry Jenkins for creating a safe space for creativity for the whole sound team. We are grateful to Amazon Studios and the whole cast/crew for their support on THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

Pulitzer Prize-winning 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 full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.