Below, check out these beautiful character posters for the first season of WGN America‘s Underground TV series, which premieres Wednesday, March 9, 2016, at 10:00pm ET/PT. The 10-episode historical drama features the brave, ingenious, persistent people, using all their skills to break free from bondage, regardless of the consequences.

The cast of Underground includes: Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Christopher Meloni, Alano Miller, Jessica De Gouw, Marc Blucas, Adina Porter, Mykelti Williamson, Amirah Vann, Johnny Ray Gill, Chris Chalk, Reed Diamond, Theodus Crane, Renwick Scott, and Jussie Smollett.

Creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski executive produce Underground with Akiva Goldsman, Tory Tunnell, Joby Harold, and John Legend.

Here is how WGN America describes Underground:

It all starts with Noah (Aldis Hodge), a courageous blacksmith who covertly organizes a small group of his fellow slaves and pieces together a daring plan of escape across hundreds of miles to freedom. The odds of success are razor-thin for those who make it off the plantation, while the risks, dangers and obstacles multiply each step of the way.

The life-and-death struggle for freedom demands great sacrifices, as the fugitives must leave family behind who ‘pay’ for their bold escape. Journeying on foot across broad, rugged woodlands, swamps and rivers, they are aided by an abolitionist couple, new to running a ‘station’ on the Underground Railroad and unprepared for the havoc it will wreak on their personal lives. But reaching an outpost doesn’t ensure safety, as the escapees are endlessly pursued by ruthless mercenaries and other bounty-hunters hell-bent on bringing them back, dead or alive.

The ensemble cast for “Underground” includes: Jurnee Smollett-Bell (“Friday Night Lights,” “True Blood,” The Great Debaters) as Rosalee, a shy and sheltered house slave called to show courage she never believed she had; Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton, “Leverage,” “Turn”) as Noah, driven and restless for freedom he’s willing to die for; Jessica de Gouw (“Arrow,” “Dracula”) as Elizabeth Hawkes, an Ohio socialite who shares the abolitionist ideals of her husband, John, but is wary of what acting on those ideals will mean for their future family; Alano Miller (“Jane the Virgin”) as Cato, a cunning and charismatic slave driver, despised and feared by his fellow slaves. His moral compass is as flexible as his loyalties; Christopher Meloni (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”) as August Pullman, a secretive man who walks a tightrope between morality and survival; Marc Blucas (“Blue Bloods”) as John Hawkes, an abolitionist lawyer who will break the laws he’s sworn to uphold in order to serve what he knows to be right; Reed Diamond (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) as plantation owner Tom Macon, a man filled with political ambitions and designs on becoming a true man of the South; Adina Porter (“True Blood,” “The 100,” “The Newsroom”) as Pearly Mae, a strong-willed wife and mother who gives voice to the song that could lead the slaves to freedom; Amirah Vann (“Girls,” And So It Goes) as Ernestine, the head house slave who will do anything to protect her children; Mykelti Williamson (“Justified,” “24”) as Moses, a fiery plantation preacher who must decide if God would want him and his family to risk it all by trying to escape; Theodus Crane (“The Walking Dead”) as Zeke, a slave with herculean size and strength, but a painful secret; Johnny Ray Gill (“Rectify”) as Sam, a talented carpenter and Rosalee’s half-brother who longs for freedom; Chris Chalk (“Gotham”) as William Still, an abolitionist who would become known in history as the father of the Underground Railroad; Renwick Scott (“Treme”) as Henry, a teenage slave with a rebellious streak and a heart of gold; Jussie Smollett (“Empire”) also guest stars, marking the first time in 20 years he and his sister will appear in the same series.

Look at these gorgeous posters!

Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Rosalee

Aldis Hodge as Noah

Jessica De Gouw as Elizabeth Hawkes

Alano Miller as Cato

Christopher Meloni as August Pullman

Amirah Wann as Ernestine

Marc Blucas as John Hawkes

Mykelti Williamson as Moses

Adina Porter as Pearly Mae

Theodus Crane as Zeke

Johnny Ray Gill as Sam

Renwick Scott as Henry

What do you think of the Underground TV show, so far? Do you plan to tune in for the first season of Underground, on WGN? Let us know, below.