If Beale Street Could Talk) adapts Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name for this limited series, which chronicles Cora Randall, a runaway slave, and her journey for freedom in the antebellum South. In it, the underground railroad is reimagined into a literal locomotive that runs underground, stopping at different stations to transport Black slaves to freedom. The series incorporates fantasy, which helps alleviate the trauma of some of the harsher scenes and gives the viewer time to recuperate before continuing through the story. The first episode is a difficult one to digest, especially for Black viewers, filled with similar themes one would expect to see in stories of slavery — a whipping, a slave being burned alive. However, Jenkins deviates from the trauma porn norm of bloody torment to also portray Black resilience, Black love, and Black joy. Being mindful of everyone's mental health on set, Jenkins brought on a team of therapists to help the actors depicting this trauma. Jenkins' directing style is quiet and restrained, giving room for viewers to watch the story unfold. The series also touches on other real-life horrors Black people experienced beyond slavery, including sterilization, medical experimentation, and the Oregon exclusionary act.